Fear Itself
by twinrose84
Summary: When a merchant goes missing on the outskirts of Agrabah, Aladdin and the others have to investigate the circumstances at a fabled Oasis. But they realize there may be more truth to the myth surrounding the place than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Hi all, I haven't written an Aladdin fic in quite some time, but this is a new inclusion to some of the other stories I've penned. This one plays upon a "what-if" scenario feeding on the fears of each of the characters, and marks the entrance of a new villain as well as the return of an old one that many of you might recognize. But things are never what they seem to be where magic is concerned, and there might be a little more than meets the eye to some of the events that occur here. I figured I'd play around with this a bit. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it._

_Synopsis: An area outside of Agrabah known as the Moonstone Oasis is said to be an area with a prominent curse. If a person looks at their reflection in the lake during a certain stretch of full moons, their deepest fears will come to life. Aladdin dismisses the legend as myth, but on evenings where Agrabah stands under the light of a full moon, strange things start happening to the people of Agrabah who have visited the oasis, to the point where Aladdin and his friends have to investigate for themselves the line between myth and reality._

**Prologue: Disappearing Acts**

Warek didn't like traveling under the light of a full moon. He hated even more that he was traveling alone on a camel that couldn't carry it's fair share of weight. The camel was moody, grumpy because neither of them had anything to drink in some time. Even the camel's head drooped forward, legs dragging through the crests of sand. Warek used his heel to the side of the beast, which prompted it to snort and trot along at a quicker pace.

Then an odd sight before Warek emerged over the crest of a sand dune, setting his heart fluttering in his chest. His rubbed his eyes, which bulged when he saw what appeared to be a blessing - an oasis. The lush expanse of trees and the waters that lapped against the moon-kissed rocks filled his hopes, as if he were already taking a long cool drink from the lake.

He laughed heartily, cackles that spread across the otherwise empty desert plain, at least on sight. "At last! _At last!_ We can cool our parched throats, Dyna," Warek said, addressing his camel as he gave her a firm pat on the side of her neck. "It can't be far now to Agrabah, but at least this is a great place to rest for a little while. Perhaps we can sleep here until the first light."

Dyna's ears perked, her movements quicker along the sand, trotting toward the oasis. Warek unloaded his wares before the two of them drank heartily from the lake. When they seemed to have their fill, Warek sank back against a cool rock, sighing in contentment. He studied his reflection briefly in lapping waters while a full moon shone overhead, before turning to the camel settled beside him.

"Refreshing, indeed. I wonder if there's any food to be had in the trees among here. I will go search for some, so you stay right here. Look after the cargo while I'm gone." His scowl deepened when Dyna snorted, but the camel recovered quickly as her master's eyes narrowed. She gave a slight nod.

Warek stroked his beard wearily, turning from his stubborn steed and walking into the forest. His bare feet shuffled along the cool sands, further stirred by a distant breeze. His footprints made indelible impressions as he trekked forward.

Traveling by evening was preferable to dealing with the hot desert of the day, but Warek still felt at odds, even with the bright light of the full moon. He couldn't help but be a little superstitious. "Bad things happen on nights like these," he remembered his wife saying one night during a full moon in their small home. "A moon as clear and full in a dark clouded sky brings forth a wicked magic."

He was inclined to agree with her. Even as he looked up to the sky while among the trees, it was the same type of night she'd described, a bellied moon, dark clouds streamlining through the sky, the stars difficult to see. He saw the glint of fruit hanging in the nearby trees and, forgetting his fear while licking his lips, he started picking the ripe fruit to take for his travels - for himself and Dyna.

A sudden rustle of leaves filled his ears in the path behind him. He turned quickly, clutching the fruit tightly to his chest, though a few fell to the sands at his feet.

All he could see was the stir of the breeze, the flutter of leaves above and beyond him.

He sighed with relief. "Warek, you fool, stop getting spooked by everything you come across." He snorted and moved forward, but then another similar sound passed his ears.

Was it a serpent near? He looked around his feet. Nothing along his ankles. He hated serpents, but at least he could handle the sight of one. He just didn't like being surprised.

But as he looked up from the ground to the sudden shape that emerged before him, the fruit dropped from his arms in the same motion as his jaw.

His scream echoed far through the night.

**Chapter 1: Illusion and Dream**

Aladdin groaned as he stood in front of the merchant's booth, his eyes rolling. "Are you saying that's _really_ how much you're willing to offer for _these_?" He struggled to keep his voice level, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides.

The merchant before him sneered. "If the price is too high for you, _boy_, then you can take your business _somewhere else!_"

Abu blew a raspberry noise. Aladdin couldn't have agreed more. "_Fine_, you know what? I'll do that. I think you're just trying to rip off any customer wanting those sugar dates. They're not worth _that much_."

"Confound you! Get away from my stand, _you street rat!_ And don't bother coming back!"

"_Hey whoa!_ Okay, _okay!_ We're going!" Aladdin had to duck a few dates as he ran from the merchant stand, while Abu screeched in alarm, crawling inside Aladdin's shirt to hide.

When the two of them were a distance away, Aladdin sighed. "It's okay, Abu, you can come out now." His eyes narrowed. "Don't think that guy will get any business today, that's for sure."

Abu poked his head wearily from Aladdin's collar. But the sudden appearance of a shadow behind Aladdin made Abu screech again and hide. Aladdin turned with a start, but relaxed as he saw Genie materialize.

Genie had a scowl on his face, puffing on a pipe that blew bubbles floating in mid-air, like a detective. "Geez, that guy must be new. I don't understand why you didn't pull the Aspiring Prince card out there, Al. Doesn't take a genius to figure he would've treated you a little differently if you did."

"He probably wouldn't have believed me, not with the way I'm _dressed_." Aladdin gestured to his usual street clothes. "And even if he had, he would've drove the prices _higher_. And you're right...he's _not_ from around here. I don't know why I bothered. That was a hassle that wasn't worth it." Aladdin ran his fingers through his hair.

Genie raised an eyebrow. "Wow, someone woke up sunny side down this morning." He materialized a pan with frying eggs that he flipped casually while donning a chef's hat. "And I'm not talking about that merchant."

Aladdin's eyes widened. "_What?_ Who, me? What did I do?"

"I'm just sayin' you don't need to be stressed out about this whole dinner thing, even though there are going to be a lot of visiting leaders..." Genie held up his hands to protest, but startled voices from among a group of merchants nearby silenced them both. Aladdin could hear them talking in hushed whispers in the alley beyond. Abu seemed just as interested in the conversation, poking his head from around Aladdin's collar.

"I'm telling you that the curse is true! Why else would that camel and cargo been left there? Its owner's been spirited away, and no one here thinks to care!" One voice called out.

"Someone went missing?" Aladdin's tone remained low.

"Seems that way," Genie said.

Another of the merchant's voices was louder. "He was at Moonstone Oasis, of course he'd go missing, and last night was a full moon! They say those that stare at their reflection in the waters of Moonstone Oasis during a series of full moons will have their worst fears brought to life. Those fears might even kill them." The merchant made a cutting motion across his neck.

A third merchant in the group ran a hand down his face. "Nonetheless, Warek wasn't the type of man to leave his steed or wares behind. I am concerned, but I do not believe in any myths that you choose to tell. Now are you going to help me look for him or not?"

"Are you mad? I'm not stepping one foot on the oasis. This has been the second night of a full moon in a row, and I think some strange magic has been afoot. I will not subject myself to some curse!"

"You're a fool to believe in such a curse," another merchant said. Several started arguing in heated tones, but Aladdin wasn't listening anymore. He'd heard enough.

Genie looked at Aladdin, who had his hand cradled against his mouth. "Uh oh. I see the wheels turning in your head, kid, and I think I know what you're going to say."

Aladdin snorted. "Okay, what do you think?"

"I think you want to go searching for the guy."

"Well, yeah. It's not that far from Agrabah, we can get there by Carpet, but..."

Genie scowled. "But what? You're afraid of the curse?"

Aladdin laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "No, it's just a scary legend that I've heard about since I was a kid. I'm surprised those merchants believed it." His expression fell, more serious. "But I'm wondering whether we should go back to the palace first. I'd rather tell Jasmine what we're doing - just in case looking for the merchant takes a lot of time. Iago probably won't like we're skipping out on work, though."

"Spoken like a true hero." Genie transformed into a soldier with a trumpet and blared a tune announcing an army advance. "Tell you what, you take Rug-man and monkey boy here to start the search. I'll tell Jasmine and Iago what happened and after working some of my semi-phenomenal cosmic power - I'll come find you at the oasis to search for him."

Aladdin grinned. "Sounds like a plan." He whistled and Carpet appeared from a distance above them. "Okay, Genie, leave a good word for me, and I'll meet up with you later."

"You've got it kiddo!" Genie turned into a horse and galloped toward the Palace, while Aladdin, Carpet and Abu streamlined over and out of the city to the desert beyond.

* * *

"Down there, Carpet! I don't see anyone by the water, though. He might've gone in the forest somewhere." Aladdin looked down at the edge of the oasis, the sky darkening to shades of orange, reflected in the water.

Abu sniffed the air, his eyes widening at the fruits that hung on the trees. They were large, red, and plump, ready to pick as Aladdin approached the edge of the forest. He stood on Aladdin's shoulder, reaching to pull one of the fruits down.

"No, Abu, we can't think about eating right now." Aladdin pushed Abu's arms down. Abu scowled at him. "Though it_ wouldn't_ be a bad thing to take some of this with us to the palace. Let's first focus on finding the merchant."

Abu folded his arms across his chest, but gave a small wave of his paw. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Hello? Is anyone here? Hell0-o!" Aladdin called out, but the breeze ruffling the trees of the oasis came as the only response. Carpet hesitated nearby as Abu and Aladdin moved forward. Aladdin noticed him trembling.

"Carpet, you're not scared, are you?" Aladdin's brow lifted.

Carpet shook his knob ends at first, but then hung its head low.

Aladdin laughed. "There's nothing to be scared of, trust me. The old legend about this place is just that - a legend. Though it's a weird coincidence that the merchant went missing on the same night as a full moon. That's never happened before. I wonder if something..."

Aladdin didn't finish the thought as a sudden anguished cry broke through the forest. It made every patch of fur on Abu bristle, as he lept to the sands at Aladdin's feet. Carpet shook, his lower knobs knocking together as if they were knees. But Aladdin's brow narrowed.

"Come on, it came from that way!" Aladdin pointed north from where they stood and rushed off in the direction, with Carpet weaving behind him, while Abu trembled briefly before running after them.

Aladdin stopped short as he saw the man knelt in the middle of shrubs, his head in his hands. He seemed to be really upset, moaning and rocking back and forth.

"Hey, sir, are you okay? What happened?" Aladdin asked, but the man didn't seem to hear him. Abu and Aladdin exchanged confused looks, before Aladdin stepped forward.

"Excuse me, are you Warek?"

That seemed to get the merchant's attention. In a flash, the man whirled around grabbing Aladdin by the collar and throwing him against the bark of a tree.

Aladdin felt a shock of pain run down his back, and his vision blurred from the impact of the back of his head with the tree. But he heard the man's voice clearly.

"You think I'm a fool to trust the sight of you, even if you know my name? I'm not easily deceived!" Aladdin saw a flash of silver in the dim moonlight that shone through the trees. His eyes widened. The merchant's dagger had a jagged design, sharp to the tip.

Aladdin held up his hands quickly. "Wait, _wait_! I'm not here to hurt you. I just..."

The merchant shook his head. As Aladdin's vision cleared he saw that the man had a glossy look to his eyes. They were an odd grey, like tiny full moons were over his pupils.

The merchant raised the dagger. "No, I'll not be taken for a fool again. Before you have a chance to torture me as you've done before, demon, I'll kill you where you stand!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Visions**

"Wait, no!" Aladdin struggled to block Warek from bringing his dagger down, but to no avail.

The only reasons the dagger missed its target entirely was because Carpet wrapped itself around the man's head, blinding him. Aladdin had a chance to dodge the blade that shot toward him. The dagger impaled the bark of the tree.

The merchant cried out, his hands flying up to his face. He staggered back, as Aladdin recovered.

Aladdin realized the man wasn't yelling anymore, he was whimpering. Like he was frightened. _Really_ frightened.

"Carpet, let him go. "

Aladdin didn't have to turn around to see Abu's expression as he screeched in protest. Even Carpet seemed to think it was a bad idea. At least from the sudden questioning motion he gave with his knobs.

Aladdin shook his head. His body tensed, but he steeled against his nerves. "Trust me, just let him go."

Carpet released the merchant, who sank to his knees on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Please, please, _please_ don't hurt me anymore. I can't take it. I can't..._I can't..._"

The pleading in his voice was enough to make Aladdin and Abu feel guilty.

Aladdin knelt down beside him. "Warek? Come on, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know what happened. You were supposed to arrive in Agrabah earlier today, right?"

The man seemed to respond to that, though the glassy look in his eyes still remained. "Yes, yes, Agrabah. My wares..."

"A friend of yours that was expecting you already has them in the city. And your camel too. They couldn't find you." Aladdin's tone was gentle.

Warek looked up, wiping the underside of his nose with his sleeve. "Oh my, I don't know what I would've done if anything happened to Dyna. She's a stubborn one, but I couldn't imagine traveling without her. Was a gift at my and my wife's wedding. Been traveling ever since." The glassy look from the merchant's eyes disappeared, and he seemed to notice Aladdin for the first time. "Who - Who are you, m'boy?"

"I'm Aladdin. And this is Abu and Carpet." Aladdin gestured to them respectively with a nod of his head. "We're just here to help, that's all."

"I'm sorry." Warek sighed heavily. "I thought you were the demon I saw last night."

Aladdin's brow lifted. "Demon?"

"Yes. It was at first a creature that came out of the sands from nowhere. It attacked me, and I think I passed out." Warek's voice trembled as he spoke, his arms wrapped around his body. "When I awoke, what looked like a man tried to come to my aid. I tried to tell him about the demon, but then he..." The merchant paused, shaking his head. "He turned into the same demon again and started attacking me. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I couldn't move...I couldn't breathe..."

Aladdin didn't know what to say. He looked at the man's tattered sleeves and trousers, which indicated he'd been in some kind of struggle, but he didn't look physically injured otherwise.

Abu gave Warek a reassuring pat on the shoulder as the merchant sobbed into his hands again. "There, there," Abu said.

Aladdin took a slow steady breath. "Don't worry, you're safe with us now. Let's take you to Agrabah, okay?"

Warek nodded. "Can I at least get a bit of water before we go? My mouth's so parched..."

Aladdin nodded. "Sure. I'll take you by the lake. Come on guys." Aladdin gestured for Abu and Carpet to follow him as he walked alongside Warek.

But neither of them noticed that something was watching their exchange from a distance away. Nor did they hear his low, hissing laugh.

* * *

Aladdin watched as Warek readily drank from the lake and ate some of the fruits that he and Abu gathered. Abu seemed happy for the chance to actually eat some of the fruit, and Aladdin didn't protest it.

The sky was dark, the full moon showing overhead over the water. Aladdin could see his reflection as he sat on one of the rocks nearby.

Aladdin's mind raced too much to think about eating the fruit himself. What had happened to the merchant in the last day? He'd been unaccounted for many hours and no one had seen or heard from him since. What exactly had attacked him?

When Warek had his fill, Abu and Warek boarded Carpet. Carpet motioned to Aladdin that they were ready.

"Just a second, let me finish filling this." Aladdin held up the half filled water jug at his side. He knelt by the water, filling it while glancing down at his own reflection in the moonlit waters. The waves lapped over each other, rippling steady and distorting the reflections as he filled the jug. But even as the silver beams struck the water, they seemed to shift into something beyond Aladdin's reflection. He stared as he held the jug beneath the water filling it, squinting at the sight.

That's when he saw the face. First it was the jagged row of teeth in its wide pearly grin. Then the dark sockets of the eyes, a long protruded nose and large brows. It opened it's wide mouth from behind Aladdin's reflection, seeming as if it were ready to bite into the side of Aladdin's neck.

"Whoa!" Aladdin leapt to his feet, dropping the jug into the water. He whirled around, lost his footing and fell into the shallow part of the lake. He looked around, but nothing was behind him, nothing except a worried Abu and Warek siting on Carpet.

"Aladdin, are you alright?" the merchant called.

"I'm fine, I'll be there in a second," Aladdin said, straining to keep the nerves out of his voice.

_That was weird. Get a grip, Al, now's not the time to be spooked by weird visions, _he thought.

He took to his feet again, squeezing the water of his soaked clothes. He'd have to change at the palace anyway.

He shook his head, picking up the mostly filled jug, corking it, and headed back to Carpet and the others.

* * *

A tiny imp emerged from the water, watching the one called Aladdin, his carpet, and the others fly off through the starry sky. He swam up to one of the rocks, laughing with low cackles.

"Well now, he's an interesting subject, much more than that pesky gent I encountered yestereve." The imp rubbed the top of its long nose and picked at its jagged teeth. "I need some fear essence to feed me, and I wasn't getting enough from that merchant. Not enough of a challenge. But that boy, he's young, hearty, plenty to feed on. And it seems he has plenty of company about him too. Now I just have to find a comfortable essence to take form in order to scare him, break down his guard. Let's see the profile of his fears I was able to grasp."

The imp conjured a spell, whispering a chant before materializing a ball of light in his long, crooked fingers. He started watching a series of scenes featuring Aladdin. The imp frowned. "Ugh, this is boring. He's far too happy. He's betrothed to a princess, he's got a loud parrot and that monkey and magic carpet..."

Then the imp's eyes widened. "He's friends with a Genie?" His laugh echoed through the night sky. "Oh-ho-ho! This is interesting, very interesting!"

The imp continued watching the ball of light, showing moments of Aladdin's life. His brow rose on a particular scene that intrigued him. "One of his fears centers around a sorcerer he was responsible for destroying, eh? Jafar, is it not? Hmm. He would be an interesting disguise. Good enough not only to scare the boy but his comrades. I could work with that." He allowed the ball of light to disappear. Putting a forefinger and thumb under his chin, the imp considered his options, while looking at the night sky.

"Another few nights of full moons to come. I'll have to act quickly or my powers will not be ripe enough to feed properly. But I have enough power to take on a foreign essence, based on my feeding with that merchant. Enough to see how it scares the boy. And if I can't scare him, then I'm not worthy of the name Jatika."

The demon stood on the edge of the water, placing his long clawed hands on the surface, allowing a warm light to envelop him, transforming his distorted appearance into the smooth form of a man with dark robes, a snake staff, and dark turban.

Jatika marveled at his appearance in the reflection of the water, his grin wide. "Yes, this is quite fitting - this Jafar character. Okay, _Aladdin_, prepare to meet your worst living nightmare."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Dead Sorcerer, Fast Awake**

Aladdin sat on the edge of the courtyard fountain, with Rajah looking discontent at his heels.

"Oh come on, Rajah, it's not that bad. I know you wanted to be at the banquet, but Jasmine said she couldn't risk scaring the guests coming in from the other kingdoms."

Rajah growled, baring his teeth at Aladdin, who drew back.

Aladdin held up his hands. "Hey, those were her words, not mine! The Sultan said the same thing. Even considering it all, I think she really wanted to bring you anyway, but couldn't. Sorry."

Rajah gave a firm snort that managed to make the hair above Aladdin's brow flare up. The beast's hot breath made Aladdin's eyes reflexively close. Aladdin frowned, smoothing his hair back in place. "_Fine_, if you want to be that way, be that way."

Genie materialized beside Aladdin on the fountain. "Hey, Al, you're missing the par-tay!" He donned a birthday hat, started throwing confetti around Aladdin and Rajah, and blew into several streamers unexpectedly. The sound made Aladdin wince, but he managed a small smile.

"No worries, Genie. I figured I'd keep Rajah company tonight."

Rajah snorted again and started walking away from both Aladdin and Genie, moving towards the palace gardens.

Genie frowned. "Well, he doesn't seem to want you around. You'd think after all this time, he'd get used to you."

"I think he's just in a bad mood since he wasn't invited to the party."

"Which begs the question - Why aren't you there? Iago, Abu and Carpet and me - we were having a blast. You missed the dance-a-thon." Genie materialized into a Flamenco costume, dancing vibrantly.

_He had to ask me that,_ Aladdin thought, groaning. He stood, pacing around the fountain. Genie noticed and frowned, materializing back to his usual self when he realized Aladdin looked more troubled than usual.

"I just...got the feeling I wasn't wanted," Aladdin managed, his head dipping down as he turned away from Genie.

Genie put his hands on Aladdin's shoulders. "And why would you think a silly thing like that?"

Aladdin groaned. "I heard two of the other leaders of a distant kingdom talking. They said they still couldn't get over the fact that Jasmine married me. _Me._ Of all the _royal_ suitors she could've chosen." Aladdin's brow narrowed, his fists clenched at his sides. "They still think I'm a _street rat_, just dressed proper. It's like they don't recognize me at all, not even for the things I've done since training with the Sultan."

Genie's expression matched Aladdin's completely with frustration. "Well, that's not a very nice thing to say."

When Genie saw Aladdin still had his eyes closed, he stood in front of Aladdin, tilting his face upward. "Al, look, I can't speak for anyone, but you've been doing a fine job as prince so far. And if they can't see that, then they're horny toads."

Aladdin opened his eyes, unclenched his fists, appearing puzzled as he looked up at Genie. "Toads?"

Genie materialized into Aladdin's hands, into the very toad he mentioned. "I could turn them into toads for you, you know. Just say the word and my semi-phenomenal nearly cosmic power will have them converted in no time. _Ribbit._"

Aladdin snorted, his lip curled in a half-smile at the sight of a talking frog Genie in his palms. "As much as it might make me feel better, I don't think that would help with our interkingdom relations, Genie. Thanks for the offer anyway."

Genie frowned. "I was kinda hoping you'd say yes. I haven't turned anyone into toads lately. No fun."

Before Aladdin could say anything, a loud crash resounded from above them, coming from the Palace. Iago's loud voice echoed from the palace to the courtyard. "Genie, we've gotta _problem_ up here!"

Genie transformed back into his usual self, slapping a palm against his forehead and running his hand down his face. "Looks like the shah who brought the 100 cats as a gift for the Sultan isn't doing a good job of keeping them contained. I'd better see if I can round them up." Genie transformed into a cowboy with boots, spurs and a lasso. "Take care kiddo. You know where to find me if you need me."

"Good luck, Genie." Aladdin laughed a little watched as Genie disappear into the palace, shooting up like a rocket onto one of the balconies before going beyond the palace walls.

* * *

Sighing, Aladdin turned to follow wherever Rajah went in the gardens. He knew that the mighty cat didn't really feel at his best. Aladdin pulled one of the fruits he'd picked at the Moonstone Oasis. It wasn't much, but it could serve as a peace offering.

Aladdin found Rajah laying on his stomach in one of the turns of the garden, his head rested on his paws, brow furrowed.

"I brought you something, Rajah. Might make you feel better." Aladdin offered it to Rajah, who eyed him with a side glance.

"Come on, it's good. Abu and I had several of them earlier when we found the merchant that was missing. Took a while to get back, but he gave us a lot of his wares as thanks. For a good price, too."

Rajah sniffed at the fruit Aladdin held, then gobbled it down in his powerful jaws as Aladdin drew back his hand. When finished, Rajah stood, stretched, and started walking away as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Aladdin's shoulders fell. "Aww, _come on_. You're really going to be like that?"

Without warning, Rajah turned and tackled Aladdin playfully to the ground, licking his face. Aladdin laughed.

"Okay, _okay!_ Easy big guy. You had me worried there, for a sec."

The rustle of some leaves nearby made Aladdin and Rajah both tense. Rajah sniffed the air, then Aladdin noticed the beast growling, his fur standing on end.

"What is it? You think something's there?"

Without answering, Rajah shot forward, running away from Aladdin to the sound in the distance.

"Hey, wait up!" Aladdin scrambled to his feet and rushed after him.

* * *

_That's right, you infernal beast. I know you can smell me, but I move faster than you. _ Jatika used his powers to stay one step ahead of the beast pursuing him. He wasn't afraid of Rajah, but rather watching to see if Aladdin could keep up with the tiger.

_That's right, lead him just a little further away, then I can make my move in my new identity. And the fear that comes will be the sweetest to taste._

* * *

"Rajah!" Aladdin called, catching his breath. Rajah had run a fair distance into the palace gardens, heedless to Aladdin following him and even causing Aladdin to lose track of the tiger.

Aladdin groaned, running a hand down his face. "He can't have gone that far. He was probably chasing some random rat or something."

"The only rat I see here is the_ street rat_ standing before me. Just a little more _dolled_ up."

Aladdin felt himself stiffen at the sound of the other voice, muffled, but clear enough to settle on his ears. So Rajah had been chasing something - or someone.

"Who's there?" Aladdin demanded.

"You don't recognize me, _boy_? I'm offended. But I suppose the skeletons in your closet don't just up and walk back into your life very often, now do they?"

_That voice..._ Aladdin felt his breath draw as the voice came from a distance behind him, among some of the garden's trees and shrubs. A shadowy figure emerged into the miniature courtyard. The dark robes, turban, and even the snake staff the figure held were revealed in the moonlight.

Aladdin stepped back, his brow narrowed, though his voice betrayed his nerves. "It can't be."

Jafar smiled ruefully. "Greetings, Aladdin."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Ghosts**

"You're supposed to be dead." Aladdin's hands balled into fists, his tone low.

Jafar teased the end of his beard with one hand, while the other clutched his snake staff. "That's quite a line. But if I'm standing in front of you, then your logic isn't relevant, now is it? I'm_ hurt_ you'd want me dead so easily."

Aladdin hesitated. _How can he still be here when Iago destroyed his lamp. He doesn't seem to be a Genie, but..._

"Your silence betrays your fear, Aladdin."

"I'm not afraid of you." But even as Aladdin said the words, he felt his heart racing in his chest. He had one foot behind him, as if he wanted to step back. He wasn't sure how the sorcerer could be there, but one thing was certain, he'd been the one Rajah had chased after.

_Rajah..._

"What did you do to Rajah?" Aladdin demanded.

Jafar's face twisted into a sneer. "Oh, _that_ oversized feline. I had to take some precautionary measures to see that our reunion wasn't..._interrupted_." Jafar snapped his fingers, and a distance from where Jafar stood, Rajah appeared, surrounded by a red aura, body limp as he floated to the ground.

"No!" Aladdin felt every muscle in him tense, his breath drawn. He broke into a run to Rajah, to see if he would have any luck waking the tiger, but Jafar's moves were quicker. The sorcerer raised his staff, conjuring magic that shot out like a bolt toward Aladdin. It struck him hard, fast, enveloping him in the same red aura that Rajah had been moments before. He couldn't move, and every inch of his skin felt like it was set ablaze. He yelled from the pain as he felt himself lifted from the ground.

"What's the matter, street rat? You can't scurry over into a corner to hide? Or is it that you want wings? I can show you flight. Batter up!" Jafar clutched his staff like a bat and swung. Aladdin felt something hit hard into him, and he shot through the air, dropping to the ground in a roll a far distance away. Pain shot through his spine as he hit the ground, the red aura disappearing. He still couldn't move. He gasped, trying to recover.

Jafar took his time in his approach, gripping Aladdin by his hair with one hand. The other hand gripped the snake staff, and Aladdin felt the cold metal of the staff pressed against his chest.

"You look a bit tired. Why not stop to take a long nap? _ For eternity_." Jafar's grin widened. Aladdin struggled to keep his eyes open, to move, but it was hard to do so when he felt magic gripping every part of him, tightening like a fist around his body.

Aladdin heard Jafar yell, startled then. His attack halted. The familiar growls clued him in. Rajah was awake. And very, very angry.

Aladdin's eyes flew open, and he managed to sit upright, turning to see Rajah and Jafar in a scuffle.

"All right Rajah!" Aladdin said, then turned to see Jafar's staff laying a distance away. Though his body felt pinched with pain, if he could just reach it...

Aladdin took to his feet and rushed over to the staff.

He hadn't expected Jafar to recover so quickly. The sorcerer's eyes glowed red and shot magic out to stun Rajah, who yelped and doubled over. Aladdin couldn't close the gap between himself and the staff fast enough, not before Jafar reached it and snatched it up. Aladdin stopped himself too late as magic shot from the staff and hit him like an arrow through the heart. His yell struck the night air, before he fell to the ground again.

"I've already spent far too much energy with the two of you for tonight, but I've gotten what I've wanted from you, especially you, boy. Until next we meet, when the moon is full in the sky, Aladdin, your _death_ awaits you." Aladdin thought he heard a strange lisp in Jafar's speech. Even as he couldn't think much past the pain and dizzying rush that filled him, he knew something was off about it.

And what did Jafar mean by "getting what he wanted?"

Before Aladdin could speak, he saw the sorcerer disappear in a puff of dark smoke that faded into the crystal clear night. Jafar was gone, and it wasn't long before Aladdin, too, sank into his own darkness.

* * *

Rajah nudged Aladdin awake, his cold nose pressing into Aladdin's neck. Rajah gave a low growl, gentle, and the look in the tiger's eyes suggested that he'd definitely been concerned.

Aladdin sat up on one of his elbows, groaning as he threaded his fingers through Rajah's fur. The tiger winced.

"You saw him too, didn't you Rajah? That was definitely Jafar."

Rajah gave a low, bitter growl.

"I thought so. Come on, we have to get back to the palace and warn the others." Aladdin sat up further, wincing as he held one hand against his chest, his breath unsteady. "Something about this isn't right."

* * *

"_He can't be alive!_ He just _can't_ be!" Iago was probably the most hysterical about the news, flying frantically in circles while the others sat in stunned silence as Aladdin told them what happened. The party had long been over and everyone had left the palace by that point, but one could hear a pin drop in the Sultan's throne room.

"I hate to break it to ya, kid, but that couldn't be Jafar," Genie said, his expression in a firm frown.

"What are you talking about?" Aladdin said. "Rajah and I saw him tonight; he_ attacked_ both of us!"

Rajah nodded his head, voicing a low growl that made Abu cower in a nearby corner. Carpet looked ready to fly under a nearby table to hide, shaking knobs and all.

"I'm not sayin' that, at least on the end of 'something' attacking you," Genie held up his hands, palms forward, shaking his head. "It's just...well, when a Genie's lamp is destroyed and they're bound to the lamp, there's no coming back. He's gone, done, more broken than Humpty Dumpty falling off his wall. There's no putting him back together." He transformed into a life sized egg broken into multiple shards.

Aladdin's shoulders slumped, his gaze turned downward, teeth clenched. "I know what I saw."

"No one's doubting that, Aladdin," Jasmine ran her hands up and down Aladdin's arms gently. She tilted his chin for him to meet her gaze. "But we saw him disappear - all of us. What would he have to come back from?"

Aladdin shook his head. "I don't know how to explain it."

"I think the Palace and the whole of Agrabah should be on high alert over the next few days. I do regret that you and Rajah were ever attacked at all, Aladdin, whatever foul magic is at work," the Sultan said, a scowl crossing his features as he sat at his throne.

At least that was better than outright claiming that Jafar wasn't the one who attacked him. Aladdin sighed. "Thanks, Sultan."

The head of the royal guard, Razoul, gave a disapproving grunt under his breath in one of the corners of the room. Even after all the time that he'd been at the palace, Aladdin knew Razoul still didn't completely trust him. There were times when he was willing to admit to Aladdin's bravery or quick-thinking, but other times...well, it was clear Aladdin still didn't fit well into the royal social circles.

"Am I the only one here that thinks we oughtta pack up and leave the city before he comes back?" Iago's eyes wide with horror. "'Cause if he's anything like he was the last time we tangled with him, we might have to start taking out _life insurance policies_."

Aladdin shook his head. "No. I don't think running away is going to solve anything."

"Well, what do you suppose we do?" Razoul snapped. "If it was Jafar, which I highly doubt, there isn't anything standing in his way for vengeance. He could strike at any time. And he wouldn't give you such a strict deadline."

"And why would you say that?" Aladdin asked.

"Because the Jafar I knew wouldn't make _his motives_ so _clear_."

Aladdin considered it. That part was true, but he couldn't deny that the figure that he and Rajah had seen was Jafar. There was the odd distortion at one point in his voice, but still...

Aladdin shook his head. "I know _what_ I saw, and _who_ I saw, Razoul." Aladdin stood to attention even as Razoul was taller than him, not backing down.

Razoul seemed dubious, shifting his gaze from Aladdin to the Sultan, stiffening into a bow. "Your majesty, just as a precaution, I'll have my men spread over the palace and through the city over the next few days. If 'Jafar" strikes, _my men_ will be ready for him."

The Sultan nodded, seeming unaware of Razoul's sarcasm. But Aladdin caught it loud and clear. If no one would believe him, he'd have to get to the bottom of it himself.

* * *

"That went better than expected," Jatika said, grinning while relaxing at a rock near the oasis, examining his glowing hands. He'd returned to his original, impish form. "I not only gained enough power to compensate for the loss of the transformation, but extra. That boy is strong willed and his fear of that sorcerer is sound." His grin became a hard scowl, his brow furrowed. "But I need more power. _If_ I'm assuming _correctly_, the guard might be alerted and make it hard for me to roam into the city given my chosen attack tonight. That could pose as a problem."

The imp stroked his chin. He conjured a spell between his hands and out of the sands near his curled shoes, two small scorpions materialized. They clapped their pinchers and stabbed the ground with their tails eagerly.

Jatika grinned. "Now, now, I'm sure you wonder why I've summoned you, pretties. First, my target is the one called Aladdin. You are to observe him through tomorrow. Then the moment the full moon appears along the desert, you are to subdue him. There is no room for failure."

The scorpions clipped in agreement, but seemed to communicate something only the imp could understand. Jatika sighed.

"No, I don't want you to kill him. I _need_ him. I've given you the power to put him into a deep sleep for a time, enough to aid in his capture. Summon me when you're done, and I'll teleport him here. I don't want to waste more power than I have to. Then my plan on making Agrabah a city of eternal sleep can begin." The imp grinned widely. "Do we have a deal?"

The small scorpions agreed, clipping in the night air.

"Very good. Now off with you. And please don't run into any of the others if you can help it. I don't need any _excess baggage_ interrupting my fun."

The scorpions scurried away from the oasis towards Agrabah.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Doubt**

The following afternoon, Aladdin peered out over the Agrabah skyline from his usual hiding place. He heard a loud crash behind him, then realized that Iago had stuffed several of Aladdin's possessions in a sack.

"Iago, what are you _doing_? That's my stuff!" Aladdin picked Iago up by the tail and glared at him.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doin'?" Iago said. "I'm_ tryin'_ to give you a head start before nightfall. If Jafar comes back, there's no tellin' what he'll do to you."

Aladdin didn't expect Iago to say something like that. His eyes narrowed."Huh. I'm surprised you care so much about me. For once."

"It's_ not_ just for _your_ sake! I'm tryin' to save my own feathers. If he gets to you, he'll _probably_ torture you, and you might reveal where I am, and then he'll search out to find and _torture me_."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Aladdin rolled his eyes and set Iago down gently on his window ledge. "Look, even if he did catch me, I wouldn't sell you out. Or anyone else. I'd figure out a way to cut him off at the pass." Even as Aladdin spoke the words, he wasn't sure exactly how he'd stop Jafar. He didn't know what the sorcerer was planning.

"Really? Well, how's that goin' for you?" Iago looked vexed.

Aladdin slowly rotated his shoulders back and forth. "I did some research in the palace library last night. Technically, Genie's right. There's no way that genies can be revived once they're bound to the lamp and the lamp's somehow destroyed."

"_Great._ I'm starting to think that Genie's theory about you and Rajah seein' things isn't so impossible."

Aladdin shook his head. "No, we definitely saw him. But I'm wondering what exactly he meant by taking something from me. That's what I was trying to search for last night, too. I'm trying to figure out what he's after."

Iago rolled his eyes. "Let me give you the _short_ version, maybe you haven't noticed, but he's after _you!_ All the more reason to leave while you have the chance." Iago tried to use his claws to lift the heavy sack on the floor, but Aladdin stopped him, holding the sack in a firm grip.

"At least you're the only one that _completely_ believes me about this," Aladdin said.

"He's _not_ the only one." A voice came from beyond the curtain entrance to his hiding place. Aladdin saw Jasmine pull back the curtain that led into his place. She was dressed in her street robe, which hid her royal attire. Abu screeched as he sat upon her shoulder.

Aladdin drew in a breath, then stood, releasing his hold on the sack which made Iago drop with it like a rock to the floor. "Jasmine, what are you doing here? I thought..."

"I came to check on you. I was worried about you." She reached a hand to his cheek even as he looked away. Abu whimpered beside her and she smiled a little. "And Abu was worried too. You left the palace so suddenly."

Aladdin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I guess...I just needed a place to think. Better than being in a place where no one believes me."

"I believe you." Jasmine's voice carried a note of protest, and Aladdin could tell she meant it. "Genie does too, I think we were all just...surprised last night. You're lucky to have walked away from it in one piece. Rajah too."

She paused, her eyes scanning his. "Genie's making plans to try to protect the city from the outskirts. And the guard have searched every corner of Agrabah since last night. Jafar's not anywhere in the city, and they've turned away traveling merchants since you told us what happened."

Aladdin gently pulled away from her, turning away from her to face the palace view. "Still, it's weird that it happened just after...wait a minute." Aladdin's eyes narrowed.

Jasmine's brows raised with concern. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"We found Warek at the oasis just last night. And last night was a full moon. That can't be a coincidence." Aladdin slapped a fist into his palm. He hated to admit it, but he wondered if his trip at the Oasis had anything to do with the attack last night.

"Oh that confirms it, you're cursed," Iago said, rolling his eyes again, then waving a dismissive wing. "Legend, _schmegend_! You went to the oasis last night and then you get attacked at the palace right after. That sounds like proof of crazy talk to me."

"I'm _not_ crazy! And it _wasn't_ a dream!" Aladdin said, his tone stern. "According to the legend, after you see your reflection in the waters at the Oasis under a full moon, you're supposed to fall into a deep sleep and are plagued with waking nightmares for eternity." Aladdin conveniently hid the fact that he'd seen a demon's face looking over his shoulder in the water before they left the Oasis that night.

It gave him enough pause that Iago, Jasmine and Abu noticed. Aladdin recovered as quick as he could. "If it were just me, that would be one thing, but Rajah saw it too. And he's never set foot in the oasis."

Abu screeched a few lines and Aladdin sighed. "Yeah, Abu, Warek _was_ in some kind of trance when we saw him. Maybe I need to ask him if he remembers anything else about the figure he saw. If Jafar was the one who manipulated him, that might answer a few things."

"And if it wasn't?" Jasmine asked.

Aladdin turned to face her, his fists clenched at his sides. "Then I don't know what we're up against."

* * *

"No, that's not the man I saw at all." Warek said sadly when Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu and Iago confronted him in the marketplace just as he was closing up shop. "I wish I knew more, Aladdin. As I said, he was a shapeshifter. A demon."

"Well, Jafar was never one to shy away from disguises," Aladdin said bitterly. "He didn't even carry around a staff or had glowing eyes or...?"

Warek's expression fell. "He did have a certain look to his eyes, they were like moons. And a power emerged from them when he attacked me. But...couldn't that have been any malicious being of magic?"

Aladdin's shoulders sank. The merchant had a point. The strange edge in the voice he remembered kept coming back to him as well. What if this being he saw was an illusion, and not Jafar at all? What if it had to do with the image he saw in the Oasis waters that night? Either way, he needed to know the truth.

Warek sighed. "I wish I could help you more, my friend. I owe you for saving my life, even when I tried to take yours in my delusion." He winced.

Aladdin shook his head. "It's okay Warek, you didn't know."

"If it's any consolation, you're weren't the only one subject to that demon's influence last night."

Aladdin's brow raised. "What do you mean?"

Warek looked around tentatively, as if he were afraid others would hear him. He beckoned Aladdin, Jasmine and the others to follow him into an empty alley, then cleared his throat. "In addition to me being spirited away for a time, I've heard of a few villagers around Agrabah last night had waking nightmares. Some dreamed of angry loved ones returning from the dead, some children dreamed they were attacked by shadows they saw along the alleys of the city. Woke with such a fright that their parents didn't know what to do."

Jasmine gasped. "How horrible!"

Warek shook his head. "That's not the only thing. I suppose you can guess the two common things they shared."

Jasmine mused a moment. "They all traveled out of Agrabah?"

Warek shook his head. "That's close though, Princess."

"They all went to the Oasis, maybe?" Iago said.

Warek nodded. "Correct, my feathered friend. And rather recently considering the full moons we've had each night."

Aladdin put a hand under his chin thoughtfully. "If that's the case, then all of them may've been under the same trance you were at one point."

"Correct again, at least as far as loved ones who witnessed the transformation." Warek sighed. "I don't know if I'm comforted or disturbed about not being the only one under that demon's influence."

"I'm_ definitely_ in the camp of disturbed," Iago said.

"It bothers me that the legend about the oasis seems like it was true - to a degree," Jasmine said, cradling her chin in one hand. "Whatever it was, it could've followed you here, Aladdin."

"And if you say you and your tiger friend saw that figure you recognized, that demon willfully made itself visible to the two of you - I'd bet it on my life," Warek said with concern. "I would say it _is_ planning something against you."

Aladdin clenched his fists at his sides. "Well, Jafar or not, if he's coming here, then at least we can be ready for him."

"And you won't be alone," Jasmine added, putting a hand on one of Aladdin's shoulders, while Abu trembled on the other.

Iago slapped a wing against his forehead as he landed on Jasmine's shoulder. "Oh sure - great idea! Let's just _wait around_ and play 'Go Fish' while he secretly prepares to _kill us all_, Al first."

Aladdin shook his head, his tone low. "It won't be like that, Iago."

He hoped that his own words would ring true.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Sleep**

As dusk started to settle over Agrabah, Aladdin most definitely wasn't waiting around. After hearing Warek's story about the people in Agrabah, both Aladdin and Jasmine traveled around the city, comforting citizens and warning others about the strange events. Some had already heard from word of mouth, others were concerned and determined to stay inside for the night, and certainly not to travel.

Genie and Abu accompanied Aladdin while Jasmine, Iago and Carpet made their separate rounds. They planned on reuniting at Aladdin's usual hiding place once they were done. Aladdin saw that Razoul had kept his word. Palace guards were posted around the city, keeping watch that evening. Even one of them that saw Aladdin nodded to him with a friendly gesture.

Genie twiddled his thumbs, looking downward as Aladdin turned to face him.

"Genie, what's wrong?"

"Uh, well..." Genie gingerly put a hand behind his head, his expression sheepish. "I guess I never had a chance to apologize."

"For?"

"Well, for making it seem like I didn't believe you. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have left the palace the way you did earlier, and..."

Aladdin shook his head, waving a dismissive hand. "Come on, Genie. Yeah, I was mad about it. A little. But I know it was - it's still - hard to believe, even for me. And Jasmine told me you were doing everything you could to keep a look out over Agrabah. So it's not a big deal. We'll find out whether Jafar's really behind this or not."

"Really? I feel like happy dancing." Genie transformed into a Scottish dancer, complete with traditional attire and tipping his hat forward. Aladdin laughed.

"Even so," Genie said, transforming back to his usual self. "I _think_ we have to worry about where Jafar's gonna show up. He didn't exactly drop a hint last night, did he?"

Aladdin shook his head, his smile fading. "He didn't say where, only said when. It's almost nightfall. I wonder if Jasmine and the others are done with their side of the city yet."

Before Genie could answer, Abu shrieked and pointing towards the ground furiously. Genie and Aladdin looked in the direction of his finger and saw a scorpion making its way from behind a pot toward them.

"Huh, I didn't know Agrabah had a scorpion problem. Usually they don't bother to make their way into the city," Genie said, slapping his forehead. He flew over to the scorpion, and picked it up before conjuring magic to trap it in a encased cube. The scorpion tried to clip and stab the surface, but to no avail.

"Neither did I," Aladdin said. "He came out of nowhere."

Abu looked down along the ground from Aladdin's shoulder, his fur bristling as he saw another one coming from behind where Aladdin stood. He screeched in alarm, but too late when one of the scorpions pinchers closed around Aladdin's ankle. Aladdin yelled, but before the creature could strike with its tail, Abu lept off Aladdin's shoulder and pulled the creature's tail back, long enough to stop it before Genie swept it up with a wave of magic, trapping it in a similar fashion as the first.

Abu screeched as he saw Aladdin kneeling down, wincing while clutching his hand over his ankle.

Genie looked equally concerned. "You okay, Al?"

"He didn't sting me, just pinched me. I'm fine." He opened his eyes and looked between the two of them. "Where did they come from anyway?"

"Dunno, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say that was coordinated."

Aladdin raised a brow. "Right, as if those scorpions were _planning_ to sting me."

"Mmm," Genie said, frowning. He looked doubtful over the whole thing, but Aladdin thought he was probably worrying too much.

Aladdin stood slowly, opting to change the subject. "Anyway, I think we'd better try to find Jasmine and the others."

As Aladdin, Abu, and Genie left down the alley, they didn't notice the shadowy figure that watched them, and who subsequently freed the trapped scorpions, all according to plan.

* * *

Jasmine, Carpet, and Iago met up with Aladdin, Genie and Abu in the middle of the marketplace. It was quiet, and it seemed most, if not all the citizens of Agrabah had taken to their homes. The sun had disappeared from the horizon, and the full moon took shape in the sky.

Jasmine sighed. "Well, so far, so good. No sign of Jafar, and everyone's inside for the evening except the guards posted."

Aladdin nodded. "That's good to hear. We just finished up. Nothing unusual there either, not that we've heard from any of the people home."

Iago folded his wings across his chest. "I could go for a little quiet and keeping my feathers for a night in Agrabah. _For once_."

Genie whispered close to Aladdin's ear. "Look who's talkin' about quiet." Aladdin snorted, giving a knowing glance at Jasmine.

"I _heard that_!" Iago shouted, flapping his wings in Genie's face while Genie fended him off. That made the whole group laugh.

But in the midst of that laughter, Aladdin stopped short as he thought he caught something moving behind him out the corner of his eye. His momentary smile faded. When he looked over his shoulder, he didn't see anyone and figured it was the passing of a cloud over the moon, judging for the way the light shone over the city.

He started to feel his ankle sting from where the scorpion had clipped him. He didn't think much of it at first because it hadn't happened long ago. But then the effect started cascading in a quick wave that overtook him. First his ankle felt numb, then it traveled up his legs, torso, arms, up to his head where it made his mind swim. Then his vision blurred.

Something was definitely wrong.

Aladdin felt himself lean against the alley wall, his breathing more labored. He closed his eyes, trying to will away from the effect, but the blood pounding through his ears became more prominent, drowning out the voices before him.

Genie who took notice of his condition first. "Al, what is it?"

He struggled to speak. "I...I don't know."

Then he couldn't fight the compulsion to sleep anymore.

* * *

As Aladdin fell to the sands, Jasmine and Abu were the first to race toward him, but were stopped short by a large mount of sand formed a barrier between them and the group, taking shape before their eyes. It swirled a moment like the spiraling body of a snake before wrapping itself around Aladdin's body and covering him.

"Aladdin! _No!_" Jasmine cried.

Both Carpet and Genie flew to the shape at once, but as quick as they pushed through the thick sand cloud, the sands dropped back to the street.

And Aladdin was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Not What it Seems**

Jasmine, Abu, Iago, Carpet and Genie all gathered at Aladdin's hiding place after searching the city for where Aladdin might've disappeared. But as they'd done so, they'd found no trace of him.

Jasmine sat on the edge of Aladdin's makeshift bed, patting Abu's back. Genie paced in a circle. Iago found a place on the window's ledge and Carpet was taking a break from the constant flying around the city and outskirts looking for Aladdin.

The guard hadn't much luck determining what happened either. All the while, none of them had seen any sign of Jafar.

"I knew those scorpions were bad news. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it." Genie muttered.

"All I got of what happened was that Al passed out and got sand-napped," Iago said. "Sounds like somethin' _Jafar_ would do! The kid was right after all."

Jasmine's fists balled at her sides. "Genie, what do you mean by scorpions?"

Genie told her the whole story about the encounter. "I'm thinking those scorpions were enchanted. I should've paid more attention - I probably could've smelled the magic coming off those things. Would make sense considering what they did to Al." Genie looked away.

Jasmine's tone softened. "You couldn't have known what would happen. But the question is where Aladdin would be now. He wasn't anywhere around the city."

Genie considered it a long moment. "Well, if Al's not anywhere around here - I'm gonna venture a guess and say the oasis, but that's a shot in the dark."

"I know one thing, I'm not goin' there. _Nuh-uh, no way, no how! _ I've been through too many of these to know what comes next. Everything about this whole scenario spells T-R-A-P." Iago folded his wings across his chest.

Genie gave a wink in Iago's direction. "You would win the spelling bee on that last word. Still, my point was that we may need a few volunteers to make sure nothing happens to Agrabah while we go save Al."

Iago seemed pleased at having a legitimate reason for staying behind. "Count me in on that one."

"I'm going to the Oasis with you, Genie," Jasmine said, boarding Carpet. "We need to see whomever or whatever took Aladdin. If the only lead for that is at the oasis, it's probably the best we can follow."

Neither Genie nor Iago protested.

Abu whimpered, not sure on whether he should go or stay.

"Tell you what," Genie prompted, his voice in a low whisper so Abu could only hear. "You keep Iago in line and if anything changes, I'm counting on you to get word to the Sultan. We'll bring back Al, no matter what. Capiche?"

Abu, a little more confident, puffed out his chest and gave a small salute.

"All right, it's _turbo ti..._!" Genie used his magic, but accidentally shifted himself into an oversized mechanical robot.

"Oops, I _meant_ turbo jets for Carpet." He used his magic again, which materialized a set of turbo jets attached to the back of Carpet. Genie boarded Carpet alongside Jasmine and the three of them sped off through the sky toward the oasis.

"I just hope nothin' ends up happenin' _here_ while they're gone," Iago said in a small voice. Abu gulped, but shook his head and motioned Iago to follow him back to the palace.

* * *

Aladdin awoke slowly, staring into the sky at a full moon that streamlined through the trees. He groaned as he sat up, shaking sand out of his hair and rubbing his ankle, which was red from where the scorpion had pinched him earlier.

Then he remembered everything, at the same time recognizing where he'd ended up.

"Genie was right, those scorpions weren't just ordinary ones. Guess the only thing to do now is find whatever it was that brought me back to the oasis." His brows narrowed. "Or whoever."

"Aladdin, are you there?" A familiar voice called out to him. Over his shoulder, he saw a shadowy figure running from a group of trees beyond him. Aladdin took to his feet.

He relaxed when the figure made himself known. "Warek? How did you get here?"

"Oh, it is truly you. It seems we were both spirited away," the merchant said, his features etched with worry. It wasn't with as much fear as Aladdin had seen in the traveling merchant the night before, but Aladdin could tell he was on edge.

"As much as I hate to think he did this to you too, I'm glad I'm not the only one here," Aladdin said. "Are you okay?"

"About as much as I can be, my friend, but..." Warek's eyes shifted around the forest. "I've seen the demon again and I - I don't know what to do. He keeps appearing out of nowhere...and...and..." The merchant shuddered, shutting his eyes tight.

Aladdin shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll get us both out of here, illusion or not. And I've got a score to settle with the demon who's been attacking you, if he's who I think he is. Come on, let's see if we can find the lake from here."

"All right," Warek agreed wearily. But as Aladdin turned his back, he didn't notice the reflection of the merchant in a nearby puddle. If he had, he would've seen the reflection of the imp. He would've also seen the sharp dagger behind its back, materializing from the sands.

* * *

"The boy really doesn't understand he's dreaming. Perfect. Just the way I want the nightmare to go. It'll make it easier to extract his fear." Jatika looked down at Aladdin's sleeping form, grinning wide at what seemed to be an easy victory. Aladdin's brow drew down in a firm line, as if he were having discomforting sleep, but his breathing was soundless. The steady rise and fall of his chest seemed to be the only visible sign of life the Prince of Agrabah had. In the heart of the thick patch of trees and brushes in the oasis, no one would find him here, not unless they were lucky.

In the end, that's all Jatika needed for his plan. At least one part of it.

The imp turned to face the scorpions, clapping his hands together, with long skinny fingers that looked more like talons, though they weren't sharp. "Bravo, my pretties. It seems you've done well for me, and that my alter-ego was of great use." Jatika was in his usual form now, no need to hide behind the Jafar disguise if Aladdin wasn't going to wake any time soon. Not as long as Jatika had anything to say about it.

But he realized quickly that Aladdin wasn't the only company he'd keep tonight. With manipulating the latent magic of the Oasis, Jatika could sense those approaching the area, however means they traveled. By sand, by steed, by sky. Something more than a bird, and familiar, streamlined through the sky towards the Oasis. The magic carpet that the imp had seen the evening before. And it had brought reinforcements.

Jatika swore beneath his breath as the vision came clear to him. Even if the prince would be unlikely to stir with as powerful of a spell as he was under, the imp preferred to keep his calm, surrounding the prince with quiet so that his nightmares weren't disturbed. "Confound it. It seems they're a determined lot to find their precious prince."

Jatika had to admit he admired Aladdin's tenacity. Based on what his scorpions reported in spying on Aladdin and his friends, Aladdin had been the one most invested in figuring the truth. _But that hadn't helped him in the end, had it? _Jatika thought, grinning widely.

The imp shrugged its shoulders, musing over what to do next. "Ah well. I suppose I'll have to keep them distracted while the extraction process is underway. Can't have anyone waking Aladdin too soon. If at all." He turned to his scorpion companions. "I think we can spare some of the gathered power to build you two into something capable of distracting them. At least until I'm ready to entertain their company _personally_."

The scorpions clapped their pinchers in approval. Jatika conjured a spell that combined the two scorpions into one larger creature, with four scissor like pinchers, a double head, sharp fangs, and a double stinger tail that could stab in two places at once.

"Excellent, now off with you, pretties. Don't disappoint me, now." The imp gently motioned the creature away, as the large scorpion beast stomped off through the trees, its legs stabbing the ground and shaking the leaves as it made its way toward the lake.

* * *

"He could be anywhere around here," Jasmine said as she walked along the the edge of the lake.

Genie frowned, shrugging his shoulders. "So could Jafar, or the guy Al says is Jafar. I'm getting so confused about this whole thing, it's tying my brain in knots." The tuff of hair atop his head tied itself in a knot. Genie tried to untie it, but ended getting his hands tied in with the knot. Jasmine gave him an odd look, but Genie sheepishly grinned.

Carpet came rushing back to the edge of the lake from one part of the forest surrounding the oasis.

"Well, Rug-man, any sign of him from the sky view?" Genie asked.

Carpet shrugged, shaking itself in a response of "no."

Jasmine hugged her arms, her fingers digging into the sides of them as she let out a shaky breath.

Genie put his hands on Jasmine's shoulders. "Don't worry Jas, we'll find him."

Before Jasmine could say anything, she noticed the large ripples along the water, vibrating from a sound that seemed to come from the forest.

"Genie, do you hear that?"

"I don't just hear it, I feel it." Genie half grinned. "I've heard of the sands moving for lucky people but..."

As the shadow suddenly emerged from the forest, which Genie recognized almost immediately, he fell silent. His smile faded, and he turned from his usual blue color to a sheer white, appearing like a ghost in the bright moonlight. Carpet started shaking and flew behind Jasmine in a cower.

Jasmine's eyes widened, her voice small. "I don't think this is the kind of situation where we could consider ourselves lucky."

The large scorpion beast gave a loud screech, the vibration from the sound enough to shake the trees and waters nearby.

Genie swallowed hard, his knees knocking together. "Point taken."


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: I didn't put this disclaimer up on the original first page because I figured it was implied, but I think I'd better add this to the story anyway. All the Aladdin characters, locales, and such associated with the movie/series belong to their respective creators/copyright owners. The story itself and original characters are mine, as per usual. I'm just wanting to tell a fun, crazy, maybe slightly hair-raising story. Thanks for the reviews/comments so far, any and all are appreciated. :)_

_I noticed that the story section dividers I had in my original text aren't showing up as I upload it to this site, so I'm going to go back and add them manually because that might make it easier for people to read. Sorry about that. ^^;_

**Chapter 8: Stealing Fear**

Aladdin motioned Warek to follow him through the shrubs, but he couldn't help but feel he was going in circles. No matter where he walked, he had a sense of deja vu, like the trees were the same, just switched in different positions.

"We should've been at the lake by now," Aladdin said, groaning as he studied the trees. "This path is leading us nowhere. Everything's all changed around from the last time we were here."

"I wouldn't doubt this is the demon's work, m'boy. We don't know what trickery we're up against." Warek said. Aladdin didn't turn to face him, but knew he was close by.

"Stay close, Warek. If you're right, then he's gotta be around here somewhere. It won't be good if we get separated."

Warek didn't answer, and Aladdin knew something was very wrong. He only had enough time with the slight turn of his head to see the flash of the knife as it raised to swipe at his back. He threw himself out of the way, rolling on the ground, before getting himself upright again a distance away as the merchant approached him.

"Warek, what are you _doing_? I'm not the demon!"

Warek took another several swipes with his dagger toward Aladdin. Aladdin evaded quickly, darting backward and nearly tripping over his own feet at one point. Warek wasn't waiting. For a merchant, he was unbelievably quick on his feet and posed a challenge. The dagger reflected the moonlight, making it seem like it glowed in the dark as Aladdin scrambled back.

"Warek, stop - snap out of it!" Aladdin said, holding up his hands as he stepped back. He really didn't want to hurt the merchant, but it wasn't as if Aladdin were armed. And the merchant really didn't want to hurt him, did he?

"Does it look like I'm in a trance to you, m'boy?" The usually placid, somewhat fearful merchant had a sinister expression, but as Aladdin looked closer, the merchant had no moon shapes in his eyes. It was really him, at least as far as his intent and form would allow.

But while the betrayal would have gutted any other person, Aladdin caught something else about the merchant that seemed off. He heard it as loud as if it were a coin dropping in an otherwise empty room.

The odd tone of Warek's voice near the end. He'd heard it before when Jafar attacked him at the palace. Something about this was definitely off, and some part of Aladdin thought the figure before him wasn't Warek at all. Who was it then?

Before Aladdin had more time to think about it, Warek lunged with his dagger. Aladdin grabbed the merchant's arm and pushed back. The two struggled in the moonlight, and Aladdin was able to knock the merchant's dagger out of his hand with a hard shove against the bark of a nearby tree. Warek yelped, but while the dagger was lost momentarily, the merchant recovered by slamming his fist into Aladdin's stomach, sending Aladdin staggering back with a grunt. Aladdin lost his footing and collapsed, rolling down a steep incline of sand and trees into the darkness.

Aladdin's back slammed hard into the base of a tree at the end of the incline, leaving him stunned. As the haze cleared from his head, he realized he needed to plan

Warek shook his head, shaking off the attack Aladdin made against him. He grinned slightly as he recovered the dagger, and turned to where he'd seen Aladdin fall where the moon's light didn't touch. Warek looked at his reflection in the dagger, which revealed Jatika's wicked grin.

"You can't run and hide forever, Aladdin. I said it before. Tonight, I summon your death."

* * *

Jasmine barely evaded the place where one of the scorpion beast's stingers stabbed into the sands before her. She yelped, staggering back and nearly losing her footing, but Carpet caught and steadied her.

"Genie, we need a plan!" she cried out.

"Kinda busy here, Princess!" Genie said in a tight voice. He was trying to keep the beast from clipping him, at the same time trying to keep the other stinger from impaling him. He did a series of dances in evading the attacks. "One potato, two potato, three potato, four..." His magic accidentally went off, transforming him into a rolling mass of potatoes that managed to roll out of the scorpion beast's clutches.

Genie figured any means of evasion was better than none.

Jasmine continued dancing around the scorpions tail as it stabbed in several places, but her mind formed a plan when Carpet offered her a ride. "I think I know how to get this beast on its back, Carpet. Let's move."

But as she boarded Carpet and started evading the creatures pinchers by flying under the beast legs. It nearly made the beast tip over, as Jasmine had planned, but it recovered quicker than she expected. She saw Genie evade one of the stinging tails, but he wasn't aware of the pincher going straight for him.

"Genie, look out!" But she was too late as it closed around Genie's waist. He struggled against it at first, but used his magic to shrink to where he slipped through the beasts clasp, dropping to the sands.

When he materialized to his normal size, Jasmine saw Genie stagger a bit. He managed to get under the beast where Jasmine was, and that confused the scorpion long enough to give them time to talk, but Jasmine saw that Genie was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I'm suddenly feelin' like I wanna catch a few winks," Genie said, slightly wavering.

Jasmine was able to put the pieces together quickly. "Wait, if it pinched you the way it did Aladdin, that means..."

Genie's body swerved, his speech becoming staggered. "Yeah, I figured. The magic...puts people...and magic beings...to sleep. Goodnight..." Genie's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he flopped to the sands, transforming into a nightshirt and cap.

"Genie!" Jasmine rushed to his side and struggled to shake him awake, but to no avail. At the same time, the impatient beast seemed to notice Genie and Jasmine had flew under its legs, and started pinching trying to grasp Jasmine. Jasmine rolled out of the way in time, boarding Carpet again and flying out from under the creature toward the lake of the oasis. Jasmine looked over her shoulder as the beast came barreling after her.

"I have another idea, Carpet, follow my lead. We're going straight for him on my count."

Carpet's knobs rose, as if he thought that was a bad idea.

"Trust me." Jasmine took a deep breath, even as the scorpion beast took the bait, marching furiously toward them. She gripped Carpet's edge tight in her hands.

"One...two...three...GO!" Carpet lurched forward, and they caught the scorpion beast aback as they were able to evade the clips of its pinchers, but Jasmine saw the beast using its tails to stab down as they reached the center of its back.

"Now Carpet!" Jasmine cried, and Carpet swerved, just in time to where the beast's tails stabbed its own back.

The beast cried out, then started to shrink in size to where it separated into two smaller scorpions in a wave of magic, before the two scorpions then melted into sand, disappearing with a stir of the breeze.

As Carpet landed. Jasmine stepped off, recovering her breath. "We did it, they're gone for good." But then she looked over her shoulder at Genie, who still lay motionless on the sands just beyond the lake. She rushed over to his side, with Carpet following not far behind.

"Genie, _please_, you have to wake up." She shook him by the shoulders, but his body was limp.

"Is there anything you can think of that we can wake him with?" Jasmine asked. Carpet shrugged, but looked remorseful as his knobs hung low. Then Jasmine's eyes widened at another realization in her mind. If Genie was in this deep of a sleep, then Aladdin had to be...

_Aladdin, where are you?_

* * *

Jatika's plan was going along better than he anticipated as he crafted a ball of magic that extracted Aladdin's fear smoothly. The fear, drawn toward Jatika, danced in the air in colorful waves that were similar to the extraction Jatika performed before on Aladdin and the tiger when he'd attacked them as Jafar.

Aladdin seemed to struggle against the extraction, even while in sleep, but the imp knew how futile that was. The battle between them in Aladdin's nightmare wasn't on the Prince of Agrabah's side, and he was just getting started.

But Jatika realized that the battle the scorpions had waged with Genie, Jasmine, and their magic carpet had come to an end prematurely. He hated the abrupt change, but he saw no hinderance in leaving Aladdin's fear extraction to finish itself. The imp would use his newfound powers to put Agrabah under a progressive sleeping spell while he went to deal with the Princess personally.

The other good thing was that the Genie was now a part of the extraction process, and thus having his own nightmare. At least Jatika's sand scorpion beasts had been good for that much. The imp could feel his power growing ten times more.

"The only thing that means," Jatika said aloud, addressing Aladdin, "is that I wouldn't have to kill you, now that I could easily feed on the fear from the Genie. That would sustain me for a while, given his power. But why stop the process?" The imp grinned while leaving the hovering ball of power over Aladdin's form to finish his work for him. "At least you can find comfort in that you'll never wake again, Aladdin. Not to see your kingdom put under sleep, nor your friends destroyed."

Jatika checked once more over Aladdin's sleeping form, before turning and sending another ball of magic into the sky. The ball drifted a bit, then shot straight toward Agrabah.

* * *

"What's takin' 'em so long?" Iago said, marching in a circle on the balcony leading out from Jasmine's room. Rajah was on the balcony, resting his head between his paws, looking over the Agrabah skyline with concern. Abu pet the tiger on the head, as if to comfort Rajah from being too lonely without either Jasmine or Aladdin being there. Though he wasn't too far from being lonely himself.

But they all gave a start when they saw, on the outskirts of the city, a glowing orb of light, about as large as the crowns atop the palace's pillars.

"What _is_ that thing?" Iago said, squinting his eyes as he looked upon the light that hovered in midair. It stayed on the outskirts, hovering in air, but then seemed to divide itself into three other pieces - each the same size as the original. Two of the pieces spread out, as if to measure just the size of the city, while the other two shot through the sky, past the palace's pillars beyond where either of them could see.

"Is it just me, or does it look like those light thingamajigs are surrounding the city?" Iago asked wearily.

"I dunno," Abu answered. Rajah looked just as confused, purring in low tones.

"I think we _might_ wanna warn the Sultan, _just_ _in case_ this gets bad." Iago flew ahead of them into the interior of the palace, Abu and Rajah following close behind.

It was when they were able to exit Jasmine's chamber that they heard the yells of startled guards from down the corridor. Abu screeched as he saw several guards rushing toward them. "Bad, bad!" The monkey pointed behind the fleeing guards.

Iago's eyes widened as he saw what the guards were running from - a fast moving cloud of darkness, weaving in a mist-like dance, cascading and swerving through the hallway. The smoke was fast, getting thicker and rushing faster with each sweep.

"Protect the Sultan!" Razoul called. Rajah, Iago, and Abu were already ahead of him, but Iago lingered behind long enough to fly level with Razoul's pace.

"Ya mind telling me what exactly we're running from?" Iago gestured behind him.

"I do not know, bird, but I know that it took out a bunch of my men with just one swoop. We have to get to the Sultan to get him out of the palace. That smoke is toxic."

"Toxic?" Iago looked behind him again as he flew ahead. Two of the guards were slower than the smoke. Just as the smoke billowed around them, Iago saw them fall. One of the men even reached out his hand beyond the cloud, before it slumped to the floor, swallowed by the smoke rushing forward.

"Okay, that's enough warning for me. _RUUUUN!_" Iago pumped his wings faster, speeding up. Abu gripped Rajah's fur as he rode on the tiger's back. Rajah had an easier time turning corners than the guards did, pushing off the walls, his muscles rippling along his back.

It wasn't long before two more guards in Razoul's company were caught by the smoke and brought to their knees before collapsing to the palace floor.

Even Abu noticed Razoul's fear as the head of the guard looked over his shoulder at his fallen men. But not long enough to slow his pace running away.

It wasn't long before the Sultan came out of a nearby room in the palace, just ahead of where Abu, Iago, Rajah and Razoul were running.

The Sultan's eyes widened as he saw them rushing toward him. "I daresay, what's all the fuss...whoa!"

Razoul didn't take the time to explain as he scooped the Sultan in his arms and ran as fast as he could towards the exit of the palace.

The Sultan's eyes widened as he saw the smoke rushing from behind them. It whipped like sand whipping through a sandstorm. It seemed to hesitate, gather, and then spread in a billowing push toward them.

Iago pumped his wings faster than he'd ever done in his life, until they reached the Palace courtyard.

Rajah, Abu, Iago, Razoul and the Sultan stopped long enough to see smoke tumbling from the windows and balconies like water from a fountain.

"I've never seen such a grand display," The Sultan said, struggling to catch his breath.

"Uh, less time marveling, _more time moving_!" Iago complained. "At least after I catch a breath."

Abu whimpered, slumping into Rajah's soft downy fur. But while Rajah's fur was soft, the tiger's stance was not. A low menacing growl escaped from the tiger's body as he watched the smoke gathering around the palace in swirls. It seemed to have stopped its advance toward them, but it hovered around the palace in a misty shell.

"So, has it stopped chasin' us?" Iago asked.

"It seems it has for now," Razoul said. "We can't go back in there for any of the men that have fallen in that haze. Lest we would put ourselves into the same slumber."

"You mean we're the only ones who made it out?"

The Sultan's shoulders slumped. "It seems so, Iago. What happened?"

"From what I've seen, your majesty," Razoul said. "It was a ball of light that suddenly situated itself on the outside of the palace. It exploded into the smoke you're seeing now. It seems to have a will of its own, grabbing and wrapping whatever it can reach and varying in speed. Every man of mine it covered - they succumbed to something of a sleeping illness."

"That's one weird way to kill insomnia," Iago muttered, but when Abu scolded him in a series of screeches, Iago shrugged. "I never said it was my choice for a sleep aid. I'd prefer somethin' a little less, uh, _dramatic_! And while we're at it, less _traumatic_!"

Sultan's brow furrowed. "But whose foul trickery is this?"

"I told ya before, and I'm sayin' it again, _it's Jafar_! " Iago shouted. "This is not the night I was hopin' for. It's a _nightmare_!"

Razoul caught the reflection of something in his sword, which caused him to turn to his side. He saw another orb of light that seemed to flicker a distance away, in the same pulse it had just before it'd exploded.

Razoul stiffened, and he turned to the group in a shout. "Quickly! You must get out of the city! It's going to...!"

Then the orb exploded in a mix of light and swirling darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Let the Games Begin**

Aladdin managed to recover quickly enough to scramble up a branch of a few nearby trees, his body tense as he stood in the shadows of branches looking down at the merchant who searched the darkness for him. While he could've outrun the merchant through the path of trees - that would've been too predictable. Aladdin figured it was smarter to get a better vantage point and figure a better plan than just running away.

"Come on out, _Aladdin_. You can't hide _forever_," Warek called, his voice taunting and echoing through the trees.

Warek's voice sounded very much the same, but Aladdin could still hear the odd distortion in his voice, sneering and inhuman - not as hidden now. Not to mention he was more than aware of Warek's armed dagger.

_He's not who he says he is. I know it now. Warek, even when he was controlled before, was more of himself than this impostor. Who...what is he?_ Aladdin shook his head, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

He followed "Warek" carefully, moving from branch to branch as if he were casually leaping from rooftop to rooftop in Agrabah. Aladdin had to take care of his timing. Not just for fear of falling - and it was a long drop to the ground from where he'd climbed - but also for Warek discovering Aladdin's hiding place.

_It'd be easier if Carpet were here. I'd be able to move a lot faster than this,_ Aladdin thought. At the recollection, he wondered about the others. Was Jasmine okay? Were Genie and the others looking for him? Was the Palace in danger? With the many questions and fears in his mind, he felt a surge - a rush out of him that made him feel more weary than usual. Like his energy was being sucked out. It made his breath catch a moment. He couldn't place what it was, but he did know one thing.

_I need to find a way out of here and figure out what's going on._

Aladdin followed until the false merchant came to a clearing near the edge of a lake, but realized two things. The first was a familiar blue semi-phenomenal cosmic powered friend who was sleeping a fair distance away from where Warek stood. "Warek" seemed equally surprised to see him.

Aladdin's eyes widened. _ Genie?! How did he get here? _ He noticed Genie was dressed in sleeping attire, and just waking from a long slumber, stretching his limbs.

But the second oddity Aladdin noticed as Warek discovered Genie. The merchant quickly hid his dagger behind his back. When Aladdin saw Warek's form pass the reflecting waters, it gave him a start. Where Warek's reflection should've been was a tiny creature with dark sockets for eyes, large sharp teeth, claws and a slim frame.

_I've seen that figure before, the time we first found Warek. It's...an imp? _Regardless of the size of the imp, it still looked scary, threatening even. It had long sharp claws that could do a fair share of shredding even more than the jagged knife behind its back.

He realized that whatever imp this was, it'd been disguising himself since Aladdin had woken in Moonstone Oasis following his capture. Which explained the odd imitational voice the merchant had taken on. He realized also that this "imp" could've also been passing as Jafar, and it would make sense given the timing, the attack, and odd mannerisms Jafar had had when attacking Aladdin and Rajah.

The main question that came to Aladdin's mind was why had this imp tried to attack him in the first place.

Aladdin realized exactly what he needed to do. _I have to warn Genie...and hope I can give him enough time to react before that imp tries anything...against either one of us._

* * *

Iago, Abu, and Rajah barely made it out of Agrabah in one piece. If it hadn't been for Warek's quick thinking, they probably would've been swallowed along with the cloud that raced after them through the streets of the city, sweeping around and over buildings and chasing after them like snow rushing down a mountain during an avalanche.

Razoul had warned them in the second explosion of the orb, but it hadn't been in enough time to save the head of the guard nor the Sultan from succumbing to the sleeping spell of the mist. But Warek happened to see the mist coming as Rajah, Iago and Abu raced - with Iago's yells cutting the silence of the night - through the city. He led them out, just in time as the dark mist hung over the city like a thick cloud, and its advance had halted quickly, leaving the city completely eclipsed with clouds of darkness.

Iago collapsed on Rajah's fur, his breaths coming in gasps. "Okay...I'm guessin' we're the only ones who made it out of the city. A tiger, a monkey, a merchant and a camel. Talk about havin' odd company."

Warek, who wiped a hand over his brow, sighed while standing beside his steed, Dyna, who looked weary from the running they'd done. Dyna wasn't used to a lot of running for a camel, and Warek knew it, running a hand over her head in comfort. "This is the sort of magic trickery that only one with a high level of magic power can wield," the merchant said. "A sleeping spell, of all things."

Rajah purred in a low worried tone, looking back at the city from the outskirts with the others.

Warek looked between Abu, Iago, and Rajah, his face twisted in confusion."What happened to all of you? And where are your comrades? Aladdin? The Princess?"

Abu told Warek the whole story in a series of screeches and gestures with his paws. The merchant sighed, worry lines crossing his brow. "And none of them have returned yet?" He scratched the hair beneath his turban. "Unless we find whatever magic did this and reverse it - we won't be able to go back in the city without succumbing to the spell."

"This is all Jafar's doing, I'm tellin' ya!" Iago grabbed Warek's collar, pressing his beak against Warek's nose in his plea before sighing and perching on the merchant's shoulder. "That's it. Let's go to Getzistan, win some money at the Casino and start a new life incognito. Whatd'ya say? It'll be a fresh start for all of us."

Warek shook his head. "No, bird, I owe a debt to Aladdin for saving my life against the demon that attacked me. If Aladdin was targeted by that same demon, I think it would be best to find him and your friends. We also need to tell them what happened to Agrabah. I've little doubt that their disappearance and this foul magic hovering over the city are somehow connected. I'm just not sure how."

Iago's brow narrowed. "Look, _maybe_ I'm not making myself _clear._ I'm not understanding the _stupidity _of going directly against anybody that could do THAT to a city!" Iago gestured back to Agrabah. "If the boy wonder can't fight 'em and Genie hasn't come back yet - there's obviously something _wrong_ with this picture! I'm not understanding what you think _WE_ can do!"

Abu whimpered a few low tones, and as if in comfort, Rajah nudged his head against the monkey, nudging Abu to stand on the sands.

Warek sighed, cutting his eyes to Iago. "Perhaps none of us can fight against a magician as great as that power, but it's worth trying to find something as to what happened. I'm not liking it any more than you."

Iago's shoulders slumped. "Fine. Considering Jafar's probably gonna hunt me down no matter where I go, might as well see what this turns up. What's it gonna be?"

Warek motioned for Iago, Rajah and Abu to follow him. "We return back to the place where all this trickery began - the Oasis. And hope we don't run into the being responsible for all this when we arrive there."

* * *

"Anything Carpet?" Jasmine asked, even as Carpet tried to rouse Genie. Even with a few slaps of his knobs against Genie's face - the semi-phenomenal being was still sound asleep in his pajamas.

Not to mention snoring.

Jasmine sighed. "What kind of sleeping spell would do something like this to a genie, of all things?"

"A power of mine, dear Princess. And one that continues to grow the more beings I have put under slumber." The familiar voice made Jasmine jump to her feet from where she'd knelt by Genie's side. Her heart quickened in her chest. She whirled around toward the direction of the voice, facing towards the edge of the forest of the Oasis in time to see a shadowy figure emerging from the trees.

Robes. Snake staff. Turban. Wicked grin that was illuminated in the light of the full moon. Jasmine gasped.

"It...can't be. Jafar?"

The sorcerer smiled. "Yes. You look as _ravishing_ as I remember, Princess. It's too bad your Genie isn't available for the moment. It would make a more...interesting reunion, to say the least."

Jasmine's look of fear vanished quickly, turning to a boiling point of rage rising inside of her. "What have you done?"

Jafar laughed. "Plenty! I'm happy you've inquired." He took several steps forward, closing the distance between himself and Jasmine as he spoke. In the time of Carpet discovering their company, it had more fervently tried to wake Genie in a series of frantic shakes. But Genie seemed in what seemed to have changed from a blissful sleep to one that didn't seem as pleasant as before, leaving Carpet to wonder what Genie was dreaming about.

Jasmine didn't dare look away from Jafar as he approached, continuing his explanation. "You see Princess, in the time that I've been at the Oasis, I've been building upon my magic during these series of odd full moons."

"You're saying the legends are true, then?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes, to an extent. You see, in the light of a full moon, the Oasis is prime for the taking for those with magic power. I can use that power - the power in the fear of those who happen to traverse here to fuel my magic. And I can use that magic to make whole cities succumb to my grasp. Which is what I'm presently doing with Agrabah for the moment."

"What?" Jasmine's eyes widened.

"Yes. And you can thank the energy I'm drawing from your Genie and prince for that. As we speak, I've gathered enough energy to put Agrabah under a significant sleeping spell. It'll take just a bit more time, but those you've left behind will soon be under my complete command."

"What have you done to Genie and Aladdin?" Jasmine's fists balled at her sides. She wanted with every fiber of her being to fight Jafar for all that he was, but she needed to hear what had happened. Moreover, what she might be able to do to wake them considering they were under the influence of the scorpion magic from earlier.

Jafar laughed again, his cackles echoing in the night air. "They're under a _very _powerful spell - one that my minions possessed before you _destroyed them_." Jafar's expression melted into one of annoyance. "Still, I'm keeping the illusion they're under active. It takes a great amount of energy to manipulate. I'm having to control multiple dispenses of power. The power that keeps the sleep spell over Agrabah, the power that keeps the nightmare active for those two so I can draw more power from them. Among other things."

"That must take a lot of concentration on your part," Jasmine said, smiling slightly. If it was taking the sorcerer's concentration of power in enough ventures, maybe she could come up with a way to wear him down enough to where his concentration would falter...maybe even enough to loosen the grip of magic that Aladdin (wherever he was) and Genie were under. "But I wonder if you have enough magic to try to chase me while you're manipulating with so much magic, if you're so powerful."

Jafar seemed to marvel at this. "You're challenging me? With some petty game of cat and mouse? You take me for a fool, Princess."

Jasmine's smile grew. "And you must be a coward, if you think you can't handle it."

Jasmine thought she saw something flicker in Jafar's form, a faltering of the inflection in his voice too as the magic around his form glowed, shining a brilliant red. "Run while you can, Princess, because I'm certainly capable of taking my time and having enough magic to destroy you and everything you love."

Jasmine took enough time to narrowly miss Jafar using his staff to shoot magic at her. She scrambled toward Carpet.

"Carpet, let's move!"

Carpet stopped abruptly, rushing over and swooping her up into the sky. Jafar, like Jasmine had though, wasted no time rising his form into midair, and shooting displays of his magic toward her and Carpet.

If challenging Jafar what it took to direct the sorcerer's attention away from the sleeping Genie, enough to have a thread to wake Genie from his slumber, Jasmine was willing to take that chance.

She hoped it wouldn't destroy her or Carpet in the process.

* * *

Jatika's plans weren't going in the way he hoped. Not completely - it was enough to be an annoyance. He was taking in as much magic as he was expending. Between keeping the active illusion of his guise in Jafar, keeping his nightmare form to manipulate the Genie's and Aladdin's fears, keeping the cloud of sleeping magic over Agrabah, AND engaging in a game of chase across the Oasis with Princess Jasmine, he had his claws full.

Still, Jatika wasn't one to turn down a dare. Wasn't in his nature. He'd tease the Princess a little before he destroyed her.

But Jatika saw trouble in his mind's eye as he manipulated the illusion under which Genie and Aladdin were in their respective slumbers. In the guise of the boy's merchant friend, Warek, Jatika had gone on the attack against Aladdin, no doubt betraying the boy's trust with nearly stabbing the street rat through with a dagger.

Jatika knew his dagger or magic could technically kill Aladdin in the dreamspace. As long as Aladdin was under the illusion that this was reality - it was Aladdin's reality. Deadly blows counted, and could kill the aspiring Prince of Agrabah even in his slumber. But Jatika didn't think it was fun to kill Aladdin quickly. No, he wanted to draw as much strength from Aladdin's fears as he could. So scaring the boy, making Aladdin fear he'd been betrayed by a friend, were all a part of the plan.

Jatika hadn't expected the Genie to show up in Aladdin's dreamspace though. That was an oddity he hadn't foreseen. With Aladdin on the run and in no visible detection in the dreamspace, Jatika realized he needed to turn his attention on manipulating Genie. So he hid the dagger behind his back as the Genie, near the edge of the Oasis forest, awoke with a start.

"Well, that was a weird dream. I just imagined getting clipped by a giant scorpion, and uh..." Genie stopped midsentence, discovered his surroundings, and frowned. "Where the heck am I?"

"Oh, it's good to see you, Genie. I didn't think I'd find anyone else in the Oasis at all." Jatika used the voice of the merchant Warek to make Genie aware of his presence.

Genie blinked a few times. "Oh hey! Warek. Didn't expect to see you here. I'm guessing you woke up here too, huh? Man, Jafar's really racking up on the magic vendetta since he's been back." Genie scratched his head, looking toward the merchant. "Don't suppose you've seen anyone around here like a certain aspiring Prince or Princess of Agrabah? Last time I checked, I'd been clipped by a few scorpions. They were not happy campers." Genie shapeshifted into a small likeness of the scorpions, but Jatika shook his head.

"I haven't seen any scorpions at all." That part was at least the truth. "And I haven't seen anyone else here."

"That's a lie!" The voice that cut through the trees made Jatika wince. So the boy was around after all.

"Al? Where the heck are you?" Genie asked. Both Jatika and Genie searched among the trees, since the voice came from far above them, echoing into the still night.

"Genie, be careful, he's _not_ who he says he is."

Jatika was facing away from Genie, but visibly grimaced. The good news was that neither Aladdin nor Genie realized they were in the dream, but the bad news was that his cover had been blown. He couldn't exactly argue his way out. But the direction of Aladdin's voice made him easy to spot. High above in the trees, standing on a branch, his arms folded across his chest.

"What's the matter, 'Warek'? You can't exactly run me through with your dagger now that I'm all the way up here." Aladdin's tone mocked him, and that made Jatika's fury burn.

"Uh, could one of you two fill me in on what happened, because I'm obviously missing a big part of this picture," Genie said.

Jatika ignored him. "I may not be able to reach you from here with this dagger, Aladdin," Jatika's dagger disappeared, changing into a ball of magic materializing in his hand. Aladdin's expression faltered at the sight of the magic ball, and at Jatika's change in tone. "But my magic can certainly still kill you."


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: Hey guys, it's been a while since I've updated this one, but I have another few chapters to go before the conclusion. Thank you so much for the comments so far, and for reading the story in general. I should have the story updated in full as soon as I can._

**Chapter 10: Eyes Open**

The sight of Warek suddenly using magic and directing it at Aladdin made Genie put two and two together, further signaled by a lightbulb flashing red that appeared over his head.

"Al! Look out!"

'Warek's' angling of the magic ball was distracted by Genie's voice, but it was enough to make the magic hit the branch Aladdin stood on, causing Aladdin to plummet down through the branches toward the ground.

"Genie!"

That pretty much told Genie he needed to play catch up. Literally.

Genie transformed into a large contraption that was part trampoline, part group of pillows. Nonetheless it did its job catching Aladdin, bouncing him a few times as he landed to safety. Aladdin let out a slow breath as he looked up at Genie.

Genie was about to ask Warek what was going on when he realized the merchant had disappeared. Then he turned to Aladdin, raising a curious brow. "Okay, two...no, three things. One - that was a really quick getaway. Two - since when did Warek learn magic? And three - since when did you get on his _bad_ side? You didn't do something to his camel did you? That's bound to get anyone's turban in a bunch."

"It's not that I got on Warek's bad side, because that _wasn't_ Warek, Genie! It was an impostor." Aladdin went on to explain how Warek had attacked him shortly after they'd traveled together in the Oasis.

Genie's expression turned into a firm frown. "Sounds like you had a rough time coming here, kiddo. And this is all Jafar's doing?"

Aladdin shook his head. "No, I think you were right all along. That wasn't Jafar. It was just some imp in disguise. What I'm trying to figure out is why he'd attack us? What did he want?" Aladdin described the imp he'd seen in the water's reflection as best as he could remember.

"I feel like in all my millenia years of knowing, I should know who this imp is, 'cause he sounds familiar. Though I _really_ don't like imps." Genie cradled his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Shapeshifting..._Aha_!"

"You know who he is, Genie?"

"Yeah. If I'm right, it's definitely Jatika. And if I recall correctly, he's an annoyingly tricky imp. He shapeshifts into different forms at will - if he has enough power to do it. Would explain the different guises he's taken on - Jafar, Warek even. But I feel like I'm forgetting something else important about him." Genie scratched his head with one hand and accidentally pulled the tuff of hair from his head. He grinned at Aladdin before putting it back into place. "Thinking too hard makes my hair molt."

"Maybe you can remember later. What happened? How did you end up here? Is Agrabah okay? Where's Jasmine, Carpet, and...?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold your broncos there." Genie transformed into a cowboy, complete with boots, hat and spurs. "One question at a time. You're not the only one who had a tricky time coming here." Genie recounted coming to the Oasis with Jasmine and Carpet, and noted that as far as he knew, Agrabah was fine, for now.

Aladdin looked alarmed. "You're saying Jasmine and Carpet are facing off against those two scorpions...?"

"Giant scorpions," Genie added, wincing.

Aladdin didn't miss a beat. "...by themselves? We _have_ to find them!"

"Tell me about it. Question is - it's quiet around this place and the last time I checked, I was put under a sleep spell by those things. So were you."

"Yeah, I know - at least we were able to come out of it," Aladdin said. "You said they were by the entrance to the Oasis, at the lake?"

"Yep, and we _might_ wanna find our way back there. Better if we try not to run into Jatika again, either. That imp's no stranger to danger - causing it, I mean."

Aladdin nodded, running his fingers through his hair as he kept in step with Genie through the forest of the Oasis. "I just hope Jasmine and Carpet are having better luck than us."

* * *

"Keep going, Carpet, you're doing great." Jasmine urged Carpet forward even as Jafar pursued them with a series of magic blasts from his staff. She hadn't been hit by any of them, but a few close calls had singed the edge of her long hair and also struck a few of Carpet's knobs. Other than that, they hadn't been any worse for wear, and it did seem like their plan was working. Jafar was slowing down, his magic was being expended and they were maintaining a fair distance from him even with the close calls from the sorcerer's magic. But Carpet was also showing signs of slowing down, and Jasmine wasn't sure how long he could keep the distance between them.

Genie still hadn't shown any signs of waking. If anything, he'd gotten worse. He wasn't snoring anymore on the grounds near the lake and he'd taken on a pensive expression, like he was having a nightmare.

Jasmine realized Jafar must've been telling the truth about the nightmares he claimed to keep both Genie and Aladdin under. She wasn't sure where Aladdin was, but it couldn't be good if Genie was under the same spell, and if Jafar was using them as a source of power as he claimed. She didn't want to leave the clearing of the lake completely because if she took her eye off Genie, something horrible might happen to him, and she didn't want Jafar to take advantage of it.

But she knew Aladdin was somewhere out there also, and she wondered how much Jafar's taunts had been true.

Another blast of red magic streamed past them. Jasmine gasped, because it looked like fire it was so close to striking her.

Then the magic connected - once, twice, three times. The first blast caused Carpet to swerve, making Jasmine grip his edges to keep from falling. But the second and third blasts burned holes through Carpet's fabric.

"No!" Jasmine screamed as she fell with Carpet to the sands of the Oasis. Luckily the fall wasn't as far as it could've been, but the impact with the ground still stunned Jasmine. Carpet landed not far from her, drifting to the ground like a leaf.

She looked up into the face of a smiling Jafar when she recovered.

"It seems that your luck has _finally_ run out, Princess. _Too bad_ my power hasn't."

* * *

Warek, Iago, Abu, and Rajah were in the heart of the Moonstone Oasis forest. Warek tied Dyna to a tree to allow the camel to rest after the trek there. Something had caught Abu's eye through the trees, and he'd scurried off ahead of the group. Warek was quicker on his feet to pursue than Iago, but not as fast as Rajah, who bounded ahead after Abu.

"Wait...let us catch up!" Warek called ahead.

"What he said!" Iago called from behind the merchant. As Warek ran through the trees, he saw what had caught Abu's eyes. Something shining a distance away in the trees. His feet pounded the ground, kicking up some of the dust. He wove down the path, following Rajah as close as he could manage. But when the path cleared before them, and they saw the source of the glow, they all stopped abruptly.

Iago was a little slower on the stopping distance, barreling straight into Warek's back, and falling to the sands. Warek didn't so much as flinch at that, not with what they saw.

"Hey! What gives, everyone's stopped all of a sudden..." Iago looked in the direction they saw Aladdin lying on the ground nearby, struggling in a deep slumber. Directly above his body was a similar orb to what they saw in the city, drawing energy from around Aladdin's body.

"That's a ticking time bomb if I ever saw one," Iago said, his voice low.

"Aladdin!" Abu went forward, but Warek picked him up by the tail before he could go much further.

"No my monkey friend, if we don't move carefully, it could harm us as well as Aladdin. We don't know what it's doing."

"I would think that it's _pretty obvious_ what it's doing!" Iago shouted. "Hello! Wake up and smell the fact that orb thing is _killing_ him!"

Warek's spine prickled with fear, realizing he'd been in a similar situation when the demon had first attacked him. "He's in a much deeper slumber than any I'd ever been in. It's the same magic - the demon's power. If we can wake the Prince, we might be able to stop that, whatever its source."

"Please tell me disturbing that thing won't make us fall asleep just like it did the rest of Agrabah," Iago said.

Warek wasn't sure what to say to Iago's words, instead turning to Rajah, whose growl was low in its throat. "Can you give us warning if anything approaches, Rajah?"

Rajah seemed to understand, nodding reluctantly before retreating a distance around the area where they'd arrived. Warek, Abu, and Iago moved toward Aladdin carefully. Warek's steps were cautious, up until the point he was close enough to Aladdin. Iago and Abu followed him. Much of this made the merchant afraid, taking him back to the time where he was helpless against the series of nightmares the demon had given him before Aladdin and his friends had saved him. He wondered if Aladdin was going through a similar ordeal in his slumber now. The pained expression on the Agrabah Prince's face would suggest something amiss.

"Aladdin. Aladdin. Wake up," Abu said, nudging Aladdin on one shoulder.

"Come on Al, snap out of it already! _Get a grip_!" Iago followed.

Warek made his motion to wake the prince as well, hoping his voice would carry through the fog that had plagued him once as well.

* * *

"Aladdin! You have to wake up!"

The sudden voice caught Aladdin off-guard, causing him to stumble against a nearby tree.

Genie helped steady him. "Hey, you okay, kid?"

Aladdin shook his head. "That was weird. For a moment I thought I heard someone speaking to me."

"From where?" Genie asked.

"I don't know, it sounded...masked. Like it was coming from inside my head."

"Uh..." Genie paused. "Yeah, like that doesn't sound weird or anything."

"_Genie!_ I'm serious."

"I'm just saying!" Genie held up his hands in protest. "I know I hear voices in my head sometimes, but that's...wait..." Genie's magic shifted him into having three heads with the two extra heads talking at each other. One of the heads had a halo and the other had horns. They were fighting rather heatedly. Genie's usual head looked down at Aladdin and frowned. "Is this anything like you're hearing?"

Aladdin's brow crept up, and he forced back a smile. "No, never mind. But I think we might want to keep it down. Jatika might still be somewhere out here. I don't think we need to draw extra attention to ourselves."

Genie snapped his fingers, making the extra heads disappear. "Good point."

Aladdin's eye caught something moving in the distance above them. A shadow. It made his body tense for a moment, ready to hide, but Genie seemed to recognize the shadow almost immediately.

"Hey, whatd'ya know. I knew we'd find someone we knew eventually." Genie nudged Aladdin's shoulder before whistling and calling the figure by name. "Hey, Rug Man!"

Sure enough, Aladdin saw Carpet's familiar form flying around, but at the lift of Carpet's underbelly, his eyes widened in horror. Carpet seemed to be heading straight for them, the underside lined with a sharp set of jagged teeth.

"Genie, that's not Carpet! _Get down!_"

Genie complied but nearly too late as the monster swooped past them, just barely missing chomping both of them as Genie and Aladdin dropped to the ground. Aladdin recovered quickly enough to see that the "monster Carpet" circled in midair, about to swoop down to take another attack against them. Aladdin found his hand on a stray branch - thick enough to use as something to attack with.

When he looked up again, he saw that the monster Carpet headed straight for Genie, but when Genie tried to use his powers, the monsters mouth opened and started to swallow streams of Genie's magic.

Genie looked as alarmed as Aladdin felt as it opened its mouth, ready to skewer Genie.

Genie yelped, paralyzed by fear, but Aladdin knew what to do. He stepped in front of Genie, swung the branch like a bat, and hit right at the monster Carpet's teeth before they opened too wide.

The effect caused the monster Carpet to screech like a cat in pain, and its teeth to fall out, before disappearing into a dark puff of smoke. Aladdin blinked his eyes twice, coming down from acting in the heat of the moment. He dropped the branch and caught his breath.

"What kind of monster was _that_?" Aladdin asked, but when he turned around, he saw Genie gasping, with the shape of a heart beating from his chest.

"That was way too close," Genie rasped, sinking to the ground by his knees. "That was definitely a magic eating creature. I haven't seen one of those things in a long time, but for it to take Carpet's form..." His voice trailed off.

"Yeah, I saw that too. You'd think that with everything that's happened that we're being scared on purpose...wait." Aladdin realized the connection. "Genie, that's it! I think I know what Jatika's been after all this time."

But before Aladdin could say anything else, he saw his semi-phenomenal cosmic powered friend drop forward to the ground, as if hit with an unexpected exhaustion.

"Genie! Genie, what's wrong? Hey!" Aladdin rushed beside his friend, shaking his shoulders, and Genie seemed to rouse just as quickly as he'd fallen forward.

"Whoa, okay...That's never happened before," Genie said as his eyes adjusted.

"Did that demon do something to you? Or did you use too much magic?" Aladdin asked as he helped Genie back to his feet.

"No to both of those. It's weird. One moment I was fine. Scared out of my wits, but fine, and the next moment, I felt like something hit me over the noggin. I'm fine now though - weird recovery. I heard you saying something like you knew what Jatika was after."

Aladdin nodded. "I think he's trying to scare us on purpose. I'm just not sure why."

Genie slapped his palm against his forehead. "_That's_ what I've been trying to remember!"

"What is it?"

Genie groaned. "It would make sense that Jatika's trying to scare us because he _feeds_ on fear. Or at least his power does. Each time he's scares someone, he's able to absorb it. He probably just took a chunk out of me if he was behind that thing that attacked us. I've never figured out how he did it, but it makes sense now that you mention it."

A steady, loud series of claps came from beyond a cluster of trees. The voice was familiar to both Aladdin and Genie, but not in tone. "Bravo, my pretties. It took you long enough to figure out."

The figure stepped out from the shadows, and made Aladdin's anger rise into his throat.

"Jatika."

Genie winced. "As Jasmine."

Jatika laughed, his voice mirroring Jasmine's almost perfectly. "I'm surprised that you both don't like my disguise. It's familiar to you, no?"

"I'd rather see what you _really_ look like," Aladdin snapped. "Or are you that much of a coward?"

Jatika snorted. "Oh, what is with all these charges calling me a coward? First I hear it from your Princess, and now I hear it from you? I guess the sugar dates don't fall too far from where they grow. I'm only having my bit of fun. Guess I couldn't hide my identity that well after all."

"Where's the _real_ Jasmine? And Carpet too?" Aladdin demanded.

"Oh, I believe a certain sorcerer managed to blast them out of the sky. Exacting revenge for my scorpions' demise."

Aladdin seemed startled, but Genie did a mini cheer until he realized the second part of Jatika's statement.

At that, Jatika shifted his form from Jasmine into Jafar, with a cackling laugh. His imitation of the sorcerer's voice only had a slight lisp, one that was familiar to Aladdin when the imp had attacked him and Rajah. "It's such a _pleasant_ sense to fill your hearts with fear. Whets my appetite for more."

"I don't think you're directly scaring us right now," Genie said, frowning. "A smidge on the side of creepy, a _lot_ more on the annoying. But not scary."

"Oh fear is fear on any level, Genie," Jatika said, shrugging casually in what was something very un-Jafar like. "No matter how miniscule. Extracting the fear that you have very shortly after an attack like you just experienced is very easy, but can have a substantial effect on your being. Not really significant that much to semi-phenomenal being. But to a human such as you, street rat," Jatika turned to Aladdin, his eyes flashing. "It can make all the difference between life and death."

Aladdin had heard enough. Before Genie or Jatika could say anything else, he rushed forward and knocked the imp's form to the ground, holding the length of the snake staff against Jatika-Jafar's throat.

Jatika looked startled at Aladdin's angry expression, no doubt expecting Aladdin to be more afraid than with the show of force the prince had shown. But Aladdin was determined, and he glared down at the imp with as much disgust as the imp glared back.

"You're wrong. About all of it, Jatika. I'm not afraid of you, or what you can do because I know whatever you're planning I'm going to take everything that I have to stop you. For my friends or whoever I care about. So you have a lot of explaining to do - and maybe you can start with this - what did you do to Jasmine?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Out of the Dream**

"What did you do to Aladdin - where is he?" Jasmine demanded as she stared at Jafar. Though she was bound my magic binds of red light, unable to move, she couldn't feel more angry at the sight around her. Carpet was still very battered from their encounter, though he still tried to wake Genie from his slumber. Jasmine knew that she'd worn down Jafar to a degree with the effort it took to catch them, but she wasn't backing down even if he'd caught them.

Jafar smiled at her. "You won't have to worry, Princess. I've taken good care of him while he's _engrossed_ in the nightmares that plague him. Unfortunately for Aladdin, he'll never wake again to see you. _Pity_ you never had the chance to say goodbye."

"I don't believe you," she snapped. "Aladdin wouldn't fall that easily, not to you of all people."

Jafar scoffed. "Oh don't be difficult. You overestimate the power of that _street rat_. You deserve _so_ much better." He used one hand to cup her face, but Jasmine pulled away quickly.

"Very well, it seems you've made your choice." He raised his staff, which emitted a red magic light from the eyes of the snake head. It struck Jasmine with equal force, throwing her back towards the center of the lake, then dropping her like a rock in the middle of it.

Jasmine was free of her binds, so she struggled to swim up to the surface, emerging to take a long breath. She was fortunate that she could swim, though she realized almost immediately after looking at her surroundings that swimming wasn't going to get her out of the latest danger.

The lake was starting to freeze over quickly, from the outer edges of the lake inward.

Jafar laughed. "It won't be long before you're frozen within the lake, Princess. You'd better hope you can hold your breath for a long, _long_ time."

As he spoke, Jasmine realized long tendrils of seaweed wrapped around her ankles, and started holding her in place. She couldn't swim forward or toward the surface, it was enough that she could barely keep her head above water.

"_No_! Carpet, help!"

Carpet started to fly over, but Jafar used his magic to prevent him from helping, freezing Carpet in midair with red magic.

Genie, whom Carpet had still tried to wake, was still trapped within sleep.

"There's no one to save you now, Princess. Not even your precious Prince." His laugh echoed through the night, and Jasmine, just before being pulled under the surface, noticed the change in the sorcerer's voice, and realized the truth.

_That's...not Jafar._

* * *

"_No!_" Aladdin's body tensed at Jatika's account of events.

Jatika laughed. "How quickly you forget your boundaries of fear, Aladdin. Let me give you a not-so-gentle reminder."

Aladdin's grip had relaxed on the staff, long enough for Jatika to take advantage of his hesitation. The staff in Jatika's grip glowed, and an explosion of red light flooded the area from the surge of power, sending Aladdin, Genie and Jatika yelling while flying backward in opposite directions.

Jatika recovered slowly from the blast. He'd taken a fair share of Aladdin's fear generated in the moment, but he hadn't realized the surge of power it would produce. _The street rat must really care for the Princess to generate that much fear,_ the imp thought. _Well, more power for me. Gives me enough to destroy the brat and his Genie for good._

But as Jatika recovered, he realized that Genie had recovered just as fast, and had caught him in a compromised position.

"Okay, first of all, taking power that's not yours and impersonating people is W-R-O-N-G! I can spell as well as a certain parrot friend of mine." Genie scolded Jatika, leaving the imp a little confused, so much so that he didn't realize Genie had taken the snake staff from him, which had been the source of his disguise in this dream world's power.

"Give that back!" demanded Jatika. "You don't know what you're doing, that power's irreversible - it belongs to no one but me once its converted!"

"Sorry, but _you_ should've thought about that sooner." Genie slammed the staff into the ground, thereby breaking it, releasing all the magic that Jatika had gained from his fear gathering between Aladdin and Genie.

"No, no, _no_!" Jatika cried, as he reverted back to his original impish form. It made him much more miniscule to Genie's vision. And Jatika realized he didn't have enough power in this realm to transform or use his magic with the loss of the staff. He realized that he should've used a back-up power source here, versus out of the dreamworld. He recalled in one of his scans of Aladdin's memories that the boy had broken Jafar's staff when the sorcerer had tried to hypnotize the Sultan of Agrabah.

Jatika scolded himself for being so careless.

"Ring any bells of deja-vu? Oh yeah, that's _right_ - you're not Jafar, as we can _plainly_ see," Genie continued. "Second, I think you need a lot more punishment than this, but I have no choice right now but to tie you up, just until we can see what to do with you _after_ we go rescue the Princess you're trying to drown."

"Wait, what are you _doing_?" Jatika cried, as the Genie used his magic to bind several ropes around Jatika to a nearby tree. The imp couldn't move against them, because they were magic and had him suspended a good distance from the ground. Jatika was used to shapeshifting so much that he was usually taller, but the height from the ground gave him a little bit of vertigo. He tried to wiggle out of his confines, but to no avail. Jatika also hadn't realized that the Genie had used his magic to file down the imp's claws.

"Hey, get me down from here, you stupid Genie!"

"Cranky, aren't we? You should've thought about that before you tried to scare AND attack us," Genie said with a slight grin. "All righty, Al - the imp's taken care of so let's...Al!"

As Genie's voice turned to panic, Jatika already recognized what the Genie had not. Aladdin had never moved since he'd been caught in the blast. The Agrabah Prince lay motionless on the ground, and in Jatika's perspective - had reached his limit.

* * *

"Hey, look, the magic's gettin' smaller and disappearing." Iago was the first to point it out. "I think we're doin' something right."

Warek cut his eyes at the parrot. "Says the bird who said it was no use two moments ago."

"I'm pessimistic by nature, I have an excuse," Iago said, folding his wings across his chest.

Warek ignored him. "Let's try once more. All together now. 1...2...3..."

Abu, Iago, and Warek yelled the same phrase at the exact same time.

"Aladdin, wake UP!"

* * *

Aladdin heard the voices loud and clear that time. And it triggered visions in his mind's eye. Iago, Abu, and Warek standing over him in the middle of the Oasis forest. Carpet trying to wake Genie at the Oasis entrance as Jasmine went under the water. Two distinct visions he wasn't sure were reality at first, but judging from Jatika's account earlier, and how vivid the visions were, he knew they were true.

They still had time to save Jasmine, but he now realized they had to break the illusion first.

Aladdin's eyes shot open, and he realized Genie was standing over him. "Okay. Whew," Genie said, wiping his hand across his forehead. "I don't think I can take so many of these close calls. Though it's his fault, really." Genie pointed his thumb in the direction behind them. Aladdin sat upright, seeing the imp squirming in his confines.

Aladdin raised one brow. "What happened to him?"

Genie shrugged, looking sheepish. "Eh - broke his staff, made him lose his magic, and tied him to a tree. You didn't miss much."

"We need to get out of here. You're closer to Jasmine right now enough to save her. She needs help fast."

"Huh? Okay, I'm definitely missing something. Did you hit your head a little too hard?"

Aladdin groaned, rolling his eyes. "No, I figured out the truth. Jatika's been keeping us under some kind of spell. We never really woke up from when the scorpions attacked us."

"No! Don't listen to the brat - no one can break my spell, no one! You hear me?"

Genie and Aladdin both ignored Jatika.

Genie's expression brightened. "You mean all of this..."

Aladdin nodded. "Was just a..."

_Dream._

At the moment they both thought the word, the illusion broke.

* * *

Genie awoke with a start. But since it was relatively quiet around where he lay, he stretched his limbs and transformed out of his sleeping gear when he realized he was wearing it. "Okay, this totally explains why I hate imps and magic sleep-inducing scorpions. Definitely taking them off my play-date list."

A distance away on the sands, Carpet seemed to stir a little more excitedly when he realized Genie was awake. Genie's eyes took Carpet in, and he felt bad. No wonder Carpet wasn't really in any shape to fly.

"Oh, wow. He did a number on you Rugman. Carpet burns are nothing to mess with." He clicked his tongue. Genie summoned some of his magic to fix Carpet quickly, which seemed to revive him excitedly. Both of them noticed Jasmine surfacing in the middle of the freezing lake of the Oasis.

"Help! Please!"

Genie snapped to attention. "Hang on, Jasmine!"

Both Carpet and Genie started forward, but neither of them noticed the massive blast of magic coming from behind them until it was too late.

* * *

"Well, if it isn't Sleeping Beauty. Do you even know how _long_ we've been trying to wake you?!"

Aladdin really wasn't happy about having Iago's voice the first thing he woke to. His head hurt more than he realized. But Aladdin welcomed Abu throwing his arms around Aladdin's neck. "I'm happy to see you guys."

Warek blinked a few times. "I can't believe we actually broke the spell. The orb disappeared without harming any of us." The merchant shook his head and helped Aladdin stand.

"Yeah, I heard you guys in the dream, but it took forever to get out of there," Aladdin's expression turned serious. "We've got a problem."

"Problem is an understatement!" Iago said. "Jafar put all of Agrabah under a sleeping spell. The Sultan and everyone else in the city is still under it. And Rajah just ran off a little while ago without telling us _anything_. Some protector he turned out to be."

"I didn't know Rajah was with you guys. He probably saw something and..." Aladdin's eyes widened. "Wait, _what_?"

Iago looked confused. "Uh, yeah - Agrabah equals Sleepyville. What problem were you talkin' about?"

Aladdin groaned. "Jasmine, Genie and Carpet need help. Jatika's trying to drown Jasmine, and I don't know how long it's going to take Genie to recover from the sleeping spell he was under. Carpet's not able to fly either. Come on, follow me - maybe we'll run into Rajah on the way."

Aladdin ran forward, heading back to the entrance to the Oasis. He knew where he was - right around the same place Warek had been when they found him, so it was a matter of getting to the lake as soon as the could.

"Who's Jatika?" Warek asked as they reached a clearing to catch their breath.

"I'm pretty sure he's the demon you saw from before," Aladdin said. "He had us all fooled."

"But what about Jaf...?" Iago was stopped when Aladdin clamped a hand over his beak to keep it shut.

"Iago, _listen_," Aladdin hissed. "Jafar IS Jatika. Jatika's a shapeshifting imp who feeds on fear. If he's got the whole city of Agrabah under a sleeping spell, he could use their nightmares to fuel his magic and shapeshift into who knows what else. And if he had any link to what happened in the dream world Genie and I were just in, then Jatika already knows we're coming."

Iago took the news all in, even as Aladdin released his beak. "Okay, good news, Jafar's not back. Bad news: we're doomed."

Aladdin smiled a little. "Nice to know you haven't lost your pessimism."

A pained roar from the distance made them all stand to attention. Iago visibly cringed in midair. Abu screeched and darted behind a brush. Warek's eyes darted around the area, visibly spooked by the sudden sound.

"Rajah." Aladdin's expression faltered a bit before he recovered and turned to the others. "Let's hurry."

* * *

Jatika was determined not to lose. As he looked down upon the injured tiger that had tried to attack him, he knew that part of his back up plan was already working. The tiger would be just one crumb for them to follow, and then he'd make his move.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Seek and Hide**

Aladdin, Warek, Iago and Abu reached the entrance to the Oasis, and in well enough time to see the odd sight of the lake freezing over, a thick sheet of ice progressively covering the lake save for its rapidly shrinking center.

In the center of the lake, struggling to keep afloat in the water, was Jasmine. From what Aladdin could tell, she was fighting something that was pulling her under, but she managed to keep her head above it most of the time to keep breathing. She didn't seem to notice them, but kept calling for help.

Aladdin was glad she was able to hold on for this long. _Just a little longer, Jasmine, we'll get you out._

Warek's brow furrowed. "We can't cross the ice, otherwise we'll slip in with her. And to whatever's trying to pull her under."

Aladdin's plan came to mind not long after he scanned his surroundings, looking for a means. He motioned to the edge of the forest, not far from where they came. "We need some strong vines. Get as many as you can and tie them together. Iago, we need you to fly one of the ends to her. We'll pull from the other end when you give us the word."

They worked quickly, and before long, they had a vine that had both strength and length. Iago quickly flew the vine and dropped it within Jasmine's grasp. Though Jasmine was pulled under at the precise moment Iago dropped the vine (causing the bird to panic), the firm tautness of the rope from beneath the water made him realize that she was holding on.

"She's got it! Pull!" Iago shouted.

Abu, Warek and Aladdin pulled, essentially becoming a tug of war between the three and the vine that'd wrapped itself around Jasmine's leg and pulled her under. For a time, Aladdin and the others had the advantage, managing to pull Jasmine out of the water and onto ice, even while she gasped and coughed. Even then the weed was determined to pull her back in. Iago tried to seize the vine not far along from where Jasmine gripped it and pulled, but the seaweed was still stronger, jerking backward and making Jasmine yelp as it pulled her backward.

Then Aladdin had another idea. "Iago, use your beak to clip the bind! You're closer to it."

At first Iago was going to question Aladdin's sanity because he'd think the binded vine that Jasmine was holding onto was pretty important in this tug of war. At least until the bird realized Aladdin had meant _the other_ bind - the somewhat thick seaweed around Jasmine's ankle. It'd come out of the water enough to be cut like a piece of string. Easier said than done.

He flew over to the seaweed's length from the closing gap in the lake and winced. "Hopefully this isn't gonna taste as bad as I think it will."

It took a few good bites, but the seaweed finally broke. Jasmine went skidding over the ice toward where Aladdin, Abu and Warek were pulling, while the seaweed slinked back into the lake's waters just before the lake completely froze over. An odd sight in the middle of a warm night in the desert.

Aladdin helped Jasmine to her feet, and she embraced him. "I'm so glad you're all right, Aladdin. Thank you, all of you."

"Our pleasure, Princess," Warek said with a small smile.

"I just hope your thanks extends to giving me somethin' to clean my beak after biting that thing through." Iago coughed and gagged a few times as he flew to perch on Warek's shoulder. "I'll be tryin' to get this taste outta my mouth for the next few weeks."

Aladdin exhaled slowly, his momentary relief disappearing from his face. "Now we just need to find Rajah, Genie and Carpet. If Jatika got to them..."

"Who's...?" Jasmine asked, but realized almost immediately what Aladdin meant. "He was Jafar, wasn't he? And what I heard earlier was _Rajah_?" Her voice rose with panic and recognition.

Aladdin blinked. "You _knew_?"

"I knew Jafar was acting strange - like he wasn't who he said he was. It was too late for me to stop him when I found out. And I heard a roar coming from that side of the Oasis one of the times I surfaced. It came from that way." Jasmine pointed to the west side of the Oasis.

"Then we'll follow that lead, and hope it takes us to them. When we find him, Jatika's going to wish he _never_ crossed us," Aladdin said, narrowing his eyes, squeezing her hand gently. Abu screeched a few times with worry, as the group headed west of the lake.

* * *

Aladdin, Jasmine, Warek, and Abu called several times for Rajah, as they searched together past the sands and through the trees.

"Where are you, you overgrown flea-bitten furball?!" Iago shouted as they entered the western expanse of the Oasis. He gave Jasmine a start, considering he'd taken a perch on her shoulder. She gave the bird a side-eye glare, even as Iago's call echoed through the area.

Warek raised a brow, snorting. "Well, that's one way of getting his attention." But no sooner had the words left his mouth when they heard another roar cut through the trees. That left the entire group on edge.

"Am I good, or am I just that good?" Iago said.

Aladdin ignored him, motioning his hand forward. "Come on, he's not far ahead."

When they came to a clearing in the forest, they saw Rajah with his head laying between his paws. He was awake, looked a little stunned, but it ceded to considerable irritation. The tiger saw Jasmine first, who rushed over to him and embraced him. Rajah winced, whimpering.

"Oh Rajah, what happened? Are you all right?"

He purred softly, nuzzling against Jasmine. The rest of the group caught up, but Rajah looked ready to pounce on Aladdin as he showed. His growl was low and deep. Aladdin flinched, instinctively taking a step back as the tiger looked like he would advance, but Rajah winced and lowered just as soon as he'd risen. Either from exhaustion or somehow being hurt, Aladdin wasn't sure. But it didn't stop his fierce growl or gaze toward the Agrabah prince.

Abu looked thoroughly confused, scratching his head underneath his fez. He scurried up Aladdin's leg and found a place on Aladdin's shoulder. Aladdin calmed a little, but his body was still stiff.

"_Rajah!_" Jasmine scolded. "_Stop_, what's wrong with you?"

Iago cut his eyes over to Aladdin. "Geez, what did you do to make him mad?"

"I didn't_ do_ anything! I haven't seen Rajah since I was..." He paused, a thought occurring to him, one he didn't like at all. A hard scowl settled over his features. "Wait a _minute_, I think I _know exactly_ what's wrong."

It was everyone's turn to stare at Aladdin as his fists clenched at his sides. Jasmine looked concerned, not expecting the anger in Aladdin's voice. Aladdin had an idea about why Rajah would react to him like that. And if his thoughts were right, he'd had enough of the game being played against them.

He decided to test his thoughts, reaching up to one of the fruits in the nearby tree, and advancing toward Rajah slowly. He stopped short of where he knew Rajah might bite him, and held out the fruit.

Rajah looked confused, but still weary as he bared his jaws.

Aladdin's tone was gentle, resigned. "This is where I got the fruit I gave you in the courtyard, Rajah, remember? If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't offer this. Take it. I know you're probably hungry after everything that happened."

Rajah sniffed at the fruit a moment, then fed off it similar to what he'd done with Aladdin back at the Palace. But instead of giving Aladdin a brush off, Rajah looked a little guilty, searching Aladdin's face before leaning forward and nudging Aladdin's hand. Aladdin hugged the tiger around his neck, closing his eyes and running his fingers gently through the tiger's fur.

"I'm so sorry, Rajah."

"Sorry?" Iago asked, sharing a confused look with Jasmine as they looked at each other. Abu screeched in sympathy, as if he suddenly understood what Aladdin was getting at.

"I don't understand, Aladdin." Warek said, frowning. "Why are you apologizing?"

Aladdin opened his eyes and looked between the concerned faces around him. He took a deep breath. "Because I think Jatika attacked Rajah earlier, and Jatika disguised himself as me when he did it."

* * *

"Brilliant plan, no? The tiger didn't know what hit him until it was too late. Not only did I drain him of a good amount of fear, I was able to contain you two in vessels so that I can continue having a power source to hold my nightmarish haze over Agrabah." Jatika looked between the Genie and Carpet, who were encased in twin magic spheres that suspended themselves in mid air in one segment of the Oasis forest. He was in his usual impish form, not worried at all about Aladdin or the others finding them, because he'd provided plenty of distraction for them.

Genie frowned. He wasn't liking his newfound captivity any more than Carpet, but he wasn't happy either at Jatika's actions. "Uh, forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but I don't think you realize just how mad Al's going to be when he finds out you did that. Jasmine too."

"Mad?" Jatika laughed, waving a causal hand in dismissal. "Oh don't be _ridiculous_, my pretties. Because one by one, I'm going to make sure I scare Aladdin and every single one of your companions to death. Get it, scared to death?"

Genie rolled his eyes, appearing bored. "I missed the punchline."

Carpet seemed to agree.

Jatika's fury bubbled, causing the tiny - yet menacing - imp to tremble. "If you _must_ recall, fear fuels me. I have all the power to wield to destroy your friends. I _have_ the _power_!"

"Yeah, yeah, go find a sword or something to hold over your head to say it with, though I wonder how you could hold one if it ends up being bigger than you. Anyway, thing is, my buddy Al's a wonder kid. He'll find some way to stop you." Genie turned to Carpet and seemed to mutter something under his breath. "I knew there was a reason I hated imps. Their egos are over the full moon. All powerful ego, itty bitty little imp."

"How dare you!" Jatika's eyes glowed and shot a beam of red powerful energy from them. The magic wrapped around Genie's sphere, sending bolts of red lightning inside the sphere where Genie was.

"_Ow, ow, ow!_ Okay, _okay_! You have the power, I get it!" Genie winced.

Jatika laughed. "I think I already know what my next move will be, and you're both in for quite a treat." Jatika shapeshifted into a likeness of Genie.

"Oh, I'm not liking this plan already," Genie said, swallowing a large lump in his throat.

"Yes. One by one I will turn your friends against each other, until their fears consume them, and I will be the only one left standing."

Genie winced, thinking it was awkward to hear Jatika imitating a likeness of his own voice.

"Toodles, pretties. I'm off to do some scaring. Don't wait up for me!" Jatika said before he vanished.

Genie looked over at Carpet. "Okay, Rug-man, I think we're going to have to put our heads together and figure out how to get out of these things. Though..." Genie paused considering something then snapped his fingers at the thought. "Jatika said that we're both power sources fueling the nightmares over Agrabah, right?"

Carpet nodded.

Genie grinned, a sly look crossing his features. "I wonder if we can somehow influence the kind of dreams they're having. Instead of nightmares, I think we should give them something to laugh about. That should zap Jatika's power source, and free up Agrabah from their snoozing." His smile vanished just as soon as it came. "Just hope we can do it in enough time so that he doesn't give Al and the others any more trouble."

* * *

"Do you think we're okay leaving Iago and Abu to watch over Rajah?" Jasmine asked as she, Aladdin and Warek moved ahead.

Aladdin nodded. "I think they'll be fine as long as they stay in one place. Rajah was too weak to go searching with us, he should be fine with Iago and Abu for now. I think between the three of us, we can find Genie and Carpet on our own."

"I still can't believe Jatika put a spell over Agrabah," Jasmine said, clenching her fists at her sides. "If anything happens to Father or the city, I..."

"We'll be okay, Jasmine. We'll stop Jatika long before then." Aladdin put his hands on Jasmine's shoulders, squeezing them lightly.

"Considering the powers that Jatika has, how are we - mere humans - to stop him?" Warek asked, a weary frown on his features.

Aladdin released Jasmine, running his fingers through his brow. "Jatika's power works by fear, so we can't let him scare any of us - that's the first thing. We have to stay close. And I think Jatika's wielding his magic through a single power source, if it's anything like how Genie and I encountered him in the dreamworld."

"So if we find that source and destroy it, Jatika won't be able to use his magic?" Jasmine asked.

"I believe it," Warek said. "The imp did say he harnessed the magic power of the Oasis on these full moon nights, and he feeds on fear. That power has to gather into something. Destroy the source, and he won't be able to use powers beyond his own latent abilities. But it's easier said than done."

Aladdin sighed. "Yeah, I don't think his power source would be as obvious, especially if he tries to shift into one of us."

Jasmine's eyes widened. "If that's the case, we need to find Genie and Carpet as soon as we can and get back to Rajah and the others. We shouldn't leave them..."

A rustle close by startled them all into silence. Warek visibly trembled, looking around the area wearily. The merchant was trying not to be afraid - he'd done well up until this point, but it was hard to do considering a shapeshifting imp with powerful magic pursued them.

"Stay close, something's definitely here," Aladdin said, his eyes also scanning the area. Jasmine squeezed his arm with one hand.

But in the same moment a familiar figure fell out of a nearby tree and came crashing to the ground at their feet.

"_Genie!_" Warek, Aladdin, and Jasmine said at once.

"Err...hi guys, long time no see." Genie looked sheepish, though wincing from the fall.

"Where have _you been_? Are you okay?" Aladdin asked.

"Fine, except meeting an imp that's been a major thorn in my side. Carpet and I got ambushed," Genie said, frowning even as the three of them helped him to his feet. "Any of you seen Rug-man? I think he might still be in trouble."

"We were afraid of that," Jasmine said. "We thought he was with you."

"He was, at one point, don't remember much after that." Genie scratched his head, frowning.

"Carpet's the only one we need to find now. What form did Jatika take on when you last left him, Genie?" Aladdin asked.

"He was Jafar again, pretty much. But who knows, he could be anyone now."

"I was afraid you'd say that, my magical friend," Warek said, swallowing hard.

"We need to stick together just in case Jatika decides to attack again, and get back to the others as soon as we can," Jasmine said.

Genie shapeshifted into a soldier. "All right, let's move out people! Operation Find Carpet is underway!" But even as Jatika-Genie moved forward of the three, none of them saw his wicked grin.

* * *

Aladdin had fallen a little behind in his steps, searching the path behind them to make sure nothing followed him, Genie, Jasmine or Warek. He was also searching to see if Carpet would show above or through the trees, but to no avail. He groaned, kicking a stray, tiny rock into the darkness.

_Jatika hasn't shown up once since Genie and I crossed him in the dreamworld. I wonder if he's watching us to see what we'll do_, Aladdin thought. He figured he needed to be on his guard to see if the tricky imp would do anything. Aladdin knew Jatika's power had grown since putting Agrabah under the sleep spell, but he wasn't sure by how much. Genie and him had been lucky enough to break the sleep spell, but it didn't mean Jatika was any less of a threat. If anything, he seemed to be more dangerous than before, especially if the imp had hurt Rajah on his behalf.

Jasmine walked alongside Genie a distance ahead, followed by Warek and then Aladdin not far behind the merchant.

Warek turned to face Aladdin, looking over his shoulder. "Something troubling you, Prince?"

"I'm just wondering why Jatika hasn't shown up by now. It's bad enough he attacked Rajah. He's trying to scare us against each other, like it's a game." Aladdin told Warek about how Jatika had disguised himself as the merchant and tried to harm him in the dream realm.

Warek listened with growing horror, and shook his head as Aladdin finished the tale. "If he's capable of doing something like that..."

Aladdin nodded. "We need to be careful, otherwise..." Aladdin's eyes found a stray puddle of water up ahead, over which both Jasmine and Genie walked past at the exact moment.

He expected Jasmine's reflection, but not the reflection standing next to her.

Aladdin's heart leapt in his throat. There was a moment he felt the sharpness of his fear being sucked out of him, making him wince, but it ceded quickly to his focus to act, especially since he realized two things at once - Genie was really Jatika, and the partially glowing lamp at Jatika's side was the source of the imp's power.

This needed to end. Now.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Fear Itself**

Aladdin acted on impulse, as he realized all of them were in immediate danger, especially Jasmine. Even if he had shouted to her that Jatika was impersonating Genie, he knew that Jatika would potentially take advantage of the situation. And there was too little time to tell Warek the truth, and run the risk of Jatika noticing Aladdin's suspicions.

Aladdin slammed into Genie's back, sending them tumbling to the ground. Warek caught up to Jasmine, both of them staring at the two in surprise.

Jatika held up his hands, appearing surprised. "Al, I really don't think this is a good time to start playing tackle. I left my helmet at home..." Jatika's voice faltered, so much so that it was a clear giveaway of his identity. Jasmine and Warek both caught on at the same time, while Aladdin recovered faster than the fallen imp.

"Maybe you shouldn't try to hide who you really are, 'Genie.' Or should I call you _Jatika_?" Aladdin snapped.

Jatika's true voice spoke after that, though he was still in Genie's form. "Guilty as charged."

"Where's the _real_ Genie and Carpet?" Jasmine demanded, her fury matching Aladdin's.

Jatika laughed. "A bit occupied for the moment, fueling my sleep spell over Agrabah." Jatika paused, glancing at the surprised faces staring back at him. "All I wanted was just to have a bit of fun with you, pretties. But now that you've found me out, it's a pity I must destroy you." Jatika slowly stood and went to reach for his side, where the lamp was, but found it missing. "What? My source? Where...?"

"I take it you're looking for _this_?" Aladdin brought out the lamp in his hands from behind his back, a confident smile accompanying his taunt. He'd been able to snatch it from Jatika in the scuffle, Yet, he realized that he didn't have a clear way of destroying the vessel of Jatika's power - it wasn't as if the lamp could be destroyed the same way as the snake staff. The imp recognized this quickly as Aladdin's expression faltered.

"I would suggest you hand that back if you know what's good for you, boy."

Aladdin shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Well, that's unfortunate. I suppose you might need something to convince you to change your mind. The wager of your friends' lives, perhaps?" Jatika conjured balls of magic in each of his hands and shot them over toward Jasmine and Warek. Jasmine was barely able to dodge the blast, tripping and falling to the ground as the ball soared over her head and crashed into a nearby clearing. But Warek wasn't as quick, the blast hitting the merchant's stomach and sending him slamming into the bark of a nearby tree.

"Warek!" Aladdin shouted, but his fear was short-lived as he saw the merchant rise slowly, coughing while wincing and clutching the sides of his arms.

"I'm alright, Prince. Don't give into his demands!"

Jatika rolled his eyes, but turned to Aladdin with wicked malice in his expression as his hands glowed with two more balls of powerful magic. "Your choice, Aladdin, their deaths to fuel your fear, or your death to fuel their fears."

Aladdin gripped the lamp in his hands tight, feeling a mix of anguish and fear in his veins. But it left as quick as it came as a plan came to his mind. He realized that it could either go very right or very wrong._ It's the only way I know that'll keep Jatika from harming Jasmine and Warek any more than he already has. I hope it helps Genie and Carpet somehow, too. _He gathered his might and turned his focus on the disguised imp. "You know something, Jatika? You're nothing but a coward."

Jatika raised one brow. "Really? You're pulling out the 'coward' insult again? How original...and pathetic."

"I'm _serious_. All this time, you've been dancing around with us, playing these _stupid_ games, using tricks to draw your source of power. And you disguise yourself as others to scare them. If you were really amounting to anything, you'd fight _your own _battles."

Aladdin wasn't expecting his words to hit as sharp as they did, especially considering the imp's features completely fell. Jasmine looked at Aladdin with concern, but Aladdin flashed a small grin at her - his expression communicating much along the lines of "Trust me."

Jatika's rage bubbled. "You _dare_ to insult _my power_? Do you_ know _how many people in Agrabah I have under my command, how easy it would be for me to destroy _you_ and _your friends_?"

"Been there, done that. If you really wanted to destroy me, you'd have done it by now." Aladdin shrugged, feigning disinterest. "Instead of trying to scare me and put me and my friends in some kind of waking nightmare. I haven't even begun to see what powers you have, besides shifting into whoever you want. That might've been interesting for a little while, but it's getting a little..." He yawned in exaggeration. "Boring. Besides, if you weren't a coward, you'd actually show your true form for what it is."

Jatika fell for it, as far as Aladdin could tell. He shapeshifted from a very cherry red Genie (equivalent to the imp's growing anger) to his original form - dark sockets for eyes, protruding sharp teeth, sharp claws, but yet tiny in stature.

Aladdin didn't allow the sight of Jatika's true form to get to him much (he'd seen it already), but he could hear Jasmine and Warek's gasps. Even small, Jatika looked scary in form.

"That's him! That's the demon I've seen!" Warek said.

Jatika turned to look over his shoulder. "Yes, and I can adjust my height accordingly, if you'd like." He grew to over twice his size with his magic.

That, Aladdin admitted, made him seem a lot more scary. But he wouldn't let his fears overwhelm him. Not anymore, and certainly not by the likes of Jatika.

For a moment, the lamp grew hot in Aladdin's hands, shifting into a clear crystal with sharp edges. The heat from it caused him to drop it to the sands as it absorbed power. The imp was too occupied, as Aladdin saw Jasmine and Warek lifted in midair, a red light enveloping them. Aladdin's eyes widened in horror as he realized Jatika was extracting fear from them.

Jatika laughed. "You may not fear me anymore, boy, but your friends certainly do."

"Aladdin, help!" Jasmine cried.

Aladdin thought fast. He struggled to keep his voice calm. "You're being a coward again, Jatika."

That had all the effect of Aladdin scolding Jatika as if the imp were a little kid. Aladdin thought Jatika would laugh it off, but the imp was just as angry as before. "And how would you come to that conclusion, boy?"

"'Cause you're still not fighting your own battles! You wanna fight me, then _fight me_!"

Jatika groaned, then snapped his fingers, which released the magic from around Jasmine and Warek, dropping them back to the sands. He turned to face Aladdin, a wicked grin crossing his features, a large gathering of magic between his hands. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about it being much of a fight, street rat. Because the few exerted breaths you take now will be your last!"

Then the imp threw the ball, which exploded and streamlined through the air at such a rate, everything else seemed to still. There was no way for Aladdin to have enough time to move from it.

Which was exactly what Aladdin wanted. In as quick of a motion, Aladdin grabbed the hot crystal from the ground. Though it stung his hand, he hurled it with all his might at the oncoming blast. _If I can't destroy Jatika's source of power myself, then I might as well have him do the honors, and hope it doesn't have too much collateral._

Jatika realized too late that had been Aladdin's intention all along.

"No!" Jatika cried, as the magic and crystal collided.

* * *

"Okay, I'm going to take that blast as a _very_ bad sign," Genie said as he flew with Carpet over the trees. They hadn't broken their confines for very long (after giving Agrabah's people a fun dream involving jugglers, dancing lions, and some other odd improvisations that Genie came up with off the top of his head), but the blinding explosion - though brief - a distance away was something that stood out, an understatement. They were going to investigate, but Genie caught sight of Iago, Abu and Rajah nearby.

"It's the rug! And Blue Boy. Man, you guys missed a bunch." Iago said, brushing off his wings. "I've molted feathers over blinding lights, tasted terrible seaweed, had to wake up a sleeping prince, and nearly gotten smothered in a city-wide sleep spell. Just another typical day."

"Was that Jatika?" Genie asked, ignoring Iago's complaints as he turned to Abu. Abu screeched as he made a series of gestures explaining what happened. Genie cringed.

"Oh man, Al, Jas and Warek were searching in that direction? Not good."

At the mention, Rajah growled, baring his teeth and taking off in the direction where they'd all seen the blast.

"Hey! Wait up furball!" Iago flew after him.

"Guess that's our cue. Let's move Carpet," Genie said, boarding Carpet alongside Abu as they sped off in the distance.

It didn't take them long to reach the area, which rained remnants of sparkling magic through the air. It was a beautiful sight for anyone to behold, except for one aberration. Genie's features twisted in confusion when he saw Jatika squirming on the ground. At first neither of them could figure out what he was saying until they approached.

"My power! All my power, gathered all these nights on the Oasis. Gone! I say, it's gone!"

"Serves you right, you big palooka," Iago muttered.

"Well, he's right about one thing - he was crafting so much power that it short-circuited all his power outlets, including his usual shapeshifting. Now he's just a tiny, harmless, rather disproportionate looking imp."

"You shut up! How dare you insult my..." Jatika had spoken, but Genie interrupted him by using his magic to replace the imp's mouth with a closed zipper.

A voice interrupted the group, as Warek staggered forward, rubbing his eyes. "It seems to me that you all seem well for the moment, my magic and animal friends."

"We were just wondering the same thing," Genie said. "You okay, Warek?"

"I could be better. I was with the princess, but she was thrown back by the blast as well." He looked over his shoulder at a rustle of leaves not far from where he stood, and Jasmine emerged while rubbing her own eyes.

"I'm okay, but where's Aladdin? He was closer to the blast than any of us."

Not long after Jasmine's words, Aladdin emerged from the brush, leaning on a nearby tree for support. Jasmine reached him first, catching him in an embrace.

"Al! You're okay!" Genie disappeared and reappeared, picking Aladdin and Jasmine up from the ground. Aladdin winced, but had a grin on his face.

"Well at least I know you're the real Genie for sure, Genie. Is this nightmare over, then?"

Genie nodded. "Yeah, kid, it's over."

* * *

"Oh my, what a fascinating story, though quite the troubling ordeal," Sultan said as they were all settled at the Palace, and Agrabah was back to sorts the next day. Carpet (who surprised everyone considering rugs didn't usually sleep) took to rest shortly after arriving back at Agrabah. Iago, Abu, and Rajah had listened for about half the story before slipping into their own slumbers. Genie was the storyteller, Aladdin and Jasmine filled in details.

The Sultan looked thoughtful as he considered another question. "So whatever happened to that infernal imp that was the cause of all this?"

Aladdin nodded. "Genie strapped him inside a rocket and sent him far away from the Oasis. He won't be scaring us or anyone in Agrabah any time soon."

"I think he's even all the way in Getizstan by now," Jasmine said, a small smile upon her lips. "But what happened to Warek? I haven't seen him since we got back to the city."

Genie grinned. "Oh, he's taking up residence in Agrabah a while, along with Dyna. The Sultan gave him a feast to remember and considering he said he liked the future Sultan and Sultana of Agrabah, this might be a better place for him to take up residence and work. He just has to get in contact with his wife about it."

"That's great, Genie," Aladdin said, sinking back into his chair. "I guess I'm glad to know that my friends are all who they say they are."

Jasmine wrapped her arms around Aladdin's shoulders. "That's one thing you'll never have to fear."

**THE END **


End file.
